I Can't Just Forget Her
by foreverNtoday
Summary: "She wasn't just the only female Howling Commando, she wasn't just Ace Cohen, but she had grown up right alongside him and Bucky," Steve Rogers didn't just lose Bucky Barnes, but he also lost his childhood friend named 'Ace' Cohen back in 1945. Everything changes two long lost faces appear. Neither know their names or history, they only know each other. AoU/Civil War to be added
1. Prologue

**So yeah this is my first story to be published on Fanfiction, so any constructive reviews are welcomed. I've planned that after the prologue in Third Person it shall switch to First Person, just to let everyone know ahead of time. The first few chapters will take place in Captain America: First Avenger before switching to Winter Soldier. Hope you guys enjoy; feel free to review, follow and if I dare to hope favorite!**

Prologue~

The Smithsonian Air and Space museum was full, crowded with visitors from every which part of the world including one very important person. Wearing a baseball cap to cover their face, they strolled through memories hung on the walls and painted in pictures—another whole lifetime ago.

"A symbol to the nation, a hero to the world, the story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery and sacrifice." the voice on the PA system said in a loop at the start of the Captain America exhibit as the figure strolled through vaguely listening. Upon a little boy noticing him, Steve Rogers himself put a finger to his lips with a secret smile watching the stunned boy just nod.

"Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down HYDRA the Nazi rogue science division." the PA continued to play as Steve stared up at the wall size portrait of his friends; everyone was painted on the wall with their original uniforms right underneath each person's portrait. One face stood out to him however, the face of his best friend and comrade—Bucky. Turning, Steve walked up to the tribute wall where Bucky's face was etched into the glass along with a brief history of him. Including video footage, the PA system said aloud,

"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes was thought to be the only Howling Commando to give his life in service for his country," at that Steve frowned and glancing to one side noticed a second tribute wall had been added on the right side of Bucky's. Walking to see the new addition, Steve came face to face with one face he hadn't forgotten just like Bucky's. Though etched in glass just like the first, the face belonged to a young woman who with her hair to the side of her head in a ponytail, was smiling as if she knew a secret. Though next to her face was an even shorter history it didn't matter because she was here in tribute—at last.

"Ace Cohen was the only female Howling Commando alongside the team, fighting in battle with the others, Ace was so nicknamed because of her precision aim during battle. Though not much is known about her, she too gave her life in service of her country." the painful twist in his chest made Steve exhale deeply as he knew far more than anyone it seemed about her. She wasn't just the only female Howling Commando, she wasn't just Ace Cohen, but she had grown up right alongside him and Bucky only to die on the train right with Bucky.

"Mommy I want to be just like Ace!" he heard a little girl say who was pointing at Ace on the tribute wall while her mother laughed saying,

"One day maybe Hannah." so that at this Steve turned around to see the little girl wearing pigtails walking hand in hand with her mother. As if she could feel his gaze, the little girl turned to see him and grinned in amazement. Letting go of her mother's hand, she went right up to Steve saying,

"I didn't think I'd meet you here!" giving her a small smile, Steve watched the little girl's mother come over about to scold her child when she noticed him.

"Did you really know Ace?" the little girl continued so that nodding, Steve knelt down on one knee in front of her saying,

"She was my best friend right with Bucky. One of the best people I ever knew." with the smile never leaving her face, the little girl looked up over at the tribute wall asking,

"Why doesn't it say that?"

"Because not everyone knew about her until recently it seems. Not much was known about her except to her comrades." Steve told her honestly making the little girl's smile drop a bit as she asked,

"Why?" exhaling deeply, Steve explained simply,

"Because Ace—she was a difficult person to get to know, she was rough along the edges but had a heart of gold underneath. She'd do anything for her friends and would go anywhere to help them. You know she followed me to Europe during the war."

"Really!?" the little girl asked making Steve chuckle and continue,

"Really, she wasn't about to let me have all the fun. She fought the gender barrier long before anyone else dared to because to her—she was just as good as any man and in my option that was true." turning sad then, the little girl said softly,

"I'm sorry about her."

"Yeah, so am I kid," Steve hushed before adding,

"But you've got her name you know, she was named Hannah Cohen but not everyone knew that." at this the little girl grinned again and taking his sleeve shook it saying,

"Really? I'm named like her?!" laughing at her eagerness, Steve stood back up and patting her shoulder told her,

"I bet you'd make an amazing Ace." so that coming over now the little girl's mother thanked him for indulging her daughter. Waving a hand in dismissal saying he didn't mind, Steve watched the little girl take her mother's hand again and walk away before calling,

"Bye Captain!" which got him to smile and wave back before turning to see the face of Hannah 'Ace' Cohen. Every word he said had been true from her following him off to war, her hard exterior that took a few tries to get around, and how hard she fought to just be seen as an equal on the battlefield. Nothing could ever make him forget her or Bucky, the two closest people he knew who now where gone—lost to time itself. Shaking his head, Steve exhaled deeply before turning to leave when he caught sight of a darting figure. Wearing a black leather jacket and dark jeans, the figure had their hair in a ponytail to one side though he hadn't gotten a good look at the color. But the profile was enough to make him start after the figure weaving between people as he kept an eye on them. Upon reaching the exit, Steve looked around for the figure before noting pale honey blonde hair moving quickly. Racing down the stairs, he shouted at them causing them to turn—and reveal a frightening familiar face. There stood Ace in the flesh who vanished when a bus passed by. How was she alive when she died in 1945?


	2. One

Chapter One~ **New York City,** **1942**

After taking forever to sneak out of the house and find a way to where the World Exhibition of Tomorrow was taking place, I managed to arrive wearing a dress—for once. It was a knee length dark royal blue with black lace along the neckline, my pale honey blonde hair curled slightly and my jade green eyes scanning the crowd. I ignored fella's catcalling me and others trying to ask me for 'a good time' while I continued searching for two familiar faces. When I paused to look around I noticed them; one scrawny blond and a muscular dark haired man standing next to one another. Total opposites, one wore a soldier's uniform while the other didn't. They were talking to two girls I knew, the sisters from our neighborhood and frowning made my way over.

"Steve! Bucky!" I called catching their attention and as the two fella's turned to see me, I grinned brightly hugging them each in turn.

"Hannah?" I heard Steve ask sounding utterly confused as I gave a spin saying cheekily,

"How'd I look?"

"Like a sweetheart, not the tough broad I know." Bucky teased shaking his head before taking my shoulders and gave me a hard look with those pale blue eyes. Poking his cheek teasingly I said to him,

"I see you both have dates." rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly Bucky laughed awkwardly as Connie from behind him said,

"It's not that often you see a tomboy in a skirt." frowning at her, I took a step over and crossing my arms said,

"And I wonder if you are both still heart set on Bucky here?"

"Please, like he would ever want a girl who can't even wear a dress for an hour." Bonnie replied so that it was to my surprise when Bucky wrapped his arm around my waist telling them both,

"Naw see, that there don't matter. It's the girl in the dress not the dress on the girl." with that he nodded to Steve saying,

"Come on Punk." affectively leaving both Connie and Bonnie behind while he walked with his arm around my waist, Steve right in line on his other side. Giving Bucky a smirk and pinching his cheek while giggling, he swatted my hand away as Steve said,

"There go our dates." though he didn't sound in the least bit upset about it as Bucky led us to the Modern Marvels Pavilion and World of Tomorrow while I said,

"No but a knight has to save the day remember?" making Bucky scoff and pinching my side enough to tickle me said,

"I'm no knight in armor Hannah, I'm your best friend. Besides I wasn't about to let them disrespect you like that when you could easily beat them to the ground." laughing at that, I noticed though Steve had his hands in his pockets he was smiling. This was how it always was; Bucky the tough guy with a heart of gold, Steve the smart kid who just wanted to do the right thing and myself who never let anyone walk over her. Having grown up with them from kids up until now, I knew them just as well as they knew me. The three of us had no secrets to hide from one another since we'd be through just about everything together. I'd been there when Bucky went to Training Camp for the war while Steve was home. Bucky and Steve had been with me when my father died—we just were as thick as thieves. Though it was true what the sisters said, I was the only gal here who'd probably have worn trousers like any man and not have cared. But I knew it was Bucky's last day since my mom had found out and told me, I wanted to look nice for him.

"Oh look it's that guy who thinks he can make a car fly." I noted seeing Mr. Howard Stark up on stage while Bucky and Steve stood next to me, one on either side.

"I'm sure he'll pull it off." Bucky said sounding impressed so that rolling my eyes I just said,

"Sure, and you'll buy me one when it does." so that giving me a smirk, Bucky replied,

"Yeah and a nice white picket fence for Uncle Steve too."

"Oh goodness not this again!" Steve muttered shaking his head so that batting him with my hand got him to laugh despite himself. We always teased each other like this, always had and probably always will. After a while of watching the show with Bucky's arm still around my waist, he turned to find Steve—missing. Groaning, he pulled me along and when I saw why groaned also because we both noticed the Enlisting center where Steve probably was. When he found out Bucky was going off to Training Camp, Steve instantly wanted to join up into the army. I spent days dragging him away from offices and sites where other men enlisted and here he was doing it again! Walking right over towards him Bucky let go of my waist and tapping him on the shoulders said,

"You really going to do this again?"

"Well it's a fair, I'm going to try my luck." Steve replied as I went over next to him and putting my arm around his asked,

"As Steve from North Dakota?" as he gave me a glare he said to the two of us,

"Look I know you both don't think I can do this."

"This isn't a back alley Steve its war!" Bucky told him so that as the two began bickering back and forth I rolled my eyes saying to them both,

"If I could I'd join up too, but since I'd be laughed at for just asking how do you think it's going to go Steve? I'm a gal wanting to join the army, you're a guy who though has a better shot than me won't make it either." each of them knew how I wanted to fight, or at least join to make my father proud since he'd always wanted a little boy—but got me.

"Come on there are men laying down their lives." Steve counter making me snap,

"And what a girl can't do the same? Please Steve that's a load and you know it. I got no right to do any less than any guy out there on the field. But that's not going to happen." seeing the grit determination on Steve's face I exhaled deeply and looking over at Bucky told him,

"Come on Bucky." so removing my arm from Steve's linked it instead with Bucky who told Steve,

"Don't do anything stupid until I get back."

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." Steve teased back making the two brothers not by blood embrace, then I gave Steve a tight hug whispering,

"Go for it." so that winking at him let Bucky lead me away and as we left Steve called,

"Don't win the war till I get there Bucky!" as Bucky saluted his best friend, I gave Steve a knowing smile before the two of us left him to go dancing. Only once on the dance floor I noticed Bucky's far off stare and sighed. Rubbing his left shoulder gently I said to him,

"He'll be fine Buck, Steve's got a hard head yes but he'll be fine."

"That don't worry me, what does is that he might get in." he told me honestly so that giving him a look I asked him,

"If I was a guy who wanted to sign up, and your best friend would you let me?" when he just stumbled over words I told him,

"See! You can't even begin to think of me as a soldier and I can fight!"

"It's not that!" Bucky told me harshly so that putting both hands on my hips asked him with one look. Looking away and exhaling deeply, Bucky turned back to me saying,

"I've always looked out for Steve and thinking I can't help him scares me."

"It scares me too, but I still want to fight and help and Steve does too. I'm limited by my gender not my health and you know that's a fact." I told him point blank making him take both of my shoulders and say,

"But if girls could go off to war like men you'd be at the lead." smiling despite myself, I said softly,

"Maybe one day, but for now I have to wait in line and wear a dress." laughing at that, Bucky took my hand and giving me a spin pulled me onto the dance floor. After at least six songs we stepped off the dance floor to get a drink and find Steve. Only we weren't able to and so left with Bucky worrying the whole way home. Upon giving him a tight hug knowing tomorrow he'd be off for Europe, I fought back tears.

"Hey now don't cry, I'll be back before you know it." he told me before doing something he never did before—kissed me as if he never wanted to let me go. The next morning when I woke up I learned that Steve, asthma head Steve had been enlisted—and broke down crying.


	3. Two

Chapter Two~

I didn't hear from Steve all throughout his time at Training Camp somewhere in New Jersey, then one day a letter appears from him. After tearing it open and reading it I honestly thought it was a joke, but no there was where to find him and what time to meet! Instantly I was out the door with my news cap hat on my head and running not stopping until I found the place. Brooklyn Antiques looked rather boring but after knocking on the door then try the knob walked inside to find a sight for sore eyes.

"Steve!" I shouted hugging him tightly making him laugh as I pulled back to see his uniform and grin.

"You lucky son of a bitch!" I beamed before hearing a throat clear next to me so turning found a dark brown short hair woman with red lips staring at me.

"Oh right, Agent Carter this is Hannah my best friend." Steve said introducing me so that as we shook hands Agent Carter asked,

"Hannah Cohen then?" giving her a 'no duh' look she frowned but nodded saying for the both of us to follow her. Going behind a curtain she led us both to a row of bookcases—that opened up towards us revealing a secret area!

"Neat." I grinned following in line right next to Steve noticing how he walked with pride and confidence and grinning felt proud to be right next to him. It wasn't until we entered a set of doors that we stopped and I saw why; down below us was a set right out from a movie with dozens of doctors and scientists, machines everywhere and a strange looking table.

"Ok, not so neat anymore." I muttered following next to Steve who though pale was at least still upright. Approaching a bald man with graying beard and glasses who shook Steve's hand, he turned to me asking,

"Are you Hannah Cohen?"

"No I'm Jane Doe nice to meet you." I replied rolling my eyes before adding,

"Yes I am." giving me a smile despite my attitude, the man introduced himself as Dr. Abraham Erskine who told me,

"Your friend here is a very brave man, willing to do this for his country." linking arms with Steve I smiled at him before saying to Dr. Erskine,

"I already knew that sir."

"And I understand you wanted to join too?" the man asked making me glare at Steve who just started whistling so that shaking my head told the doctor,

"Unless you can change my gender I don't think that's going to happen sir." laughing, the man shakes his head telling me,

"No even I cannot do that, but I can get you a good word with Colonel Phillips to perhaps—if this works—stay alongside your friend here. Agent Carter has already agreed to help train you if necessary." glancing from the other woman to Steve and then to the doctor I grinned brightly saying,

"I'd do anything to just help out, let alone be alongside Steve." and so nodding, the doctor began getting Steve ready while Agent Carter took my shoulder to steer me back a bit. When Howard Stark himself appeared I asked him,

"When do I get my flying car?" before Agent Carter began leading me to the booth upstairs, only before I stepped inside shouted,

"Just keep your chin up Punk!" which getting a smile out of him made me give him two thumbs up. As we stepped inside I found many political and important people who I just rolled my eyes at while I went right up to the glass. Chewing my lower lip out of fear, I began to think of what Bucky would say seeing us here. He'd probably throw a fit and break something, which at that thought got me to smile. As the table started to lift up and close around Steve I heard someone mutter,

"What a great lab rat." making me turn around and glaring at the man asked,

"Would you rather be in his place? No you wouldn't because you don't have half the courage as Steve." only at this the room downstairs began to change as the doctor began to panic. When Dr. Erskine shouted for them to turn it off I frowned and standing up left the booth hearing Steve shout,

"I can do this!"

"Give him a chance doc, he deserve it!" I yelled before all the machines in the room began to fry and spark, smoke appearing from them as the table capsule began to glow inside. It wasn't until they turned it all off that I felt a pinch in my side and looking down saw a tiny shard of glass on the floor, and blood on my shirt. I didn't notice the pain however as the capsule opened and out appeared a twice as large and muscular Steve.

"Steve!" I cried running down the stairs and as he stepped out shakily I threw my arms around his neck and laughed. Pulling back I kissed his cheek asking him,

"How do you feel?"

"Taller." he panted out making me pat his cheek and step back as everyone flitted around behind us at the amazing change. Suddenly the glass of the booth upstairs exploded sending glass flying every which way as Steve ducked and covered me with his body. When we both managed to get up we saw the doctor fall down from getting shot, all the while a man was running up the stairs. Steve bent down next to the doctor as more gunshots rang out yet when Steve stood back up I knew that look on his face. He was determined to do whatever it took, so giving him a nod took off right after him. Though he was faster I was somehow able to stay right in speed with him as he leap in front of Agent Carter who had tried to stop the guy getting away. When she shouted,

"I had him!" and Steve just kept running I managed to grab the gun she dropped and continue to chase alongside Steve. Somehow and I have no idea how, I stayed right on his heels as we weaved through the neighborhood and crossing streets. When Steve almost flew into a storefront I grabbed his shirt and pulled him backwards making him stumble a bit. About to turn down one street I shouted,

"Come on Punk!" and waved along an alleyway which led us closer to the speeding car as Steve asked,

"How are you running?"

"How are you not out of breath?" I snapped right on back at him before he just smiled at me only he didn't see the car in front of him. With a shout I watched him leap over the cars roof and onto the speeding getaway cars top!

"Drama king." I groaned so that thanks to a little help from a truck caught up with Steve—just as the car he was riding on top of flipped upside down! As it rolled several times on the street I watched Steve appear standing up shaking his head slightly. Upon hearing gunshots I raised the 'borrowed' gun I had tucked into my pants and fired getting the guy right in the lower arm that held the gun. It wasn't until the guy grabbed a small boy that I fired again this time hitting the guy's foot and missed the kid with aim. Even though I might be a gal doesn't mean my father didn't teach me how to aim a gun! As the man ran off Steve shouted at me,

"Come on!" so that instantly I was right behind him tossing the gun since it was out of bullets. Seeing Steve turn a corner and try to talk the guy down, I rolled my eyes and watched the guy toss the kid into the water. As we ran to get the boy, he just shouted up at us that he could swim and to get the guy.

"Split up." I told Steve since this was the area my uncle had worked in for years, he would sometimes take me down here and so I knew the place like the back of my hand. It wasn't long until I saw the guy up ahead trying to get into the water. Only I met him with a roundhouse kick to the side and grabbing his arm to keep him from getting in the water twisted it. With a shout of pain I pulled him around and ducking onto one knee flipped him onto his back. Letting go, I watched him stand up and try to kick me only I grabbed his ankle and with a spin made him go flying into a brick column. Trying to regain his balance, I watched him stumble a bit before he said,

"That was stupid sweetheart."

"I'm not your sweetheart." I hissed before kicking him in the lower stomach before giving one more roundhouse kick so that he flew onto the ground. That's when Steve appeared making me ask,

"Did you stop for coffee?" only giving me a look, Steve went over to the guy who was clearly dizzy and asked who he was. Spying the broken blue vial on the ground, I went over and stepped on the guy's bad wrist to make my point that we weren't letting him win this.

"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place." the guy hissed biting his tooth making his mouth foam up before he coughed out,

"Hail HYDRA." Steve stepped back and I stepped off his wrist before he looked over at me.

"How'd you keep up Hannah?" he asked making me look down, my side was still bloody.


	4. Three

**Alrighty so in this chapter I have put in BOLD letters and numbers the change of location within the story. In other words Ace and Steve arrive in Italy and the story continues on from there. I'm glad so many people have enjoyed this so far and have to thank 'Fantasy-Mania31' and 'Maniac at Midnight' for their reviews! *hugs***

Chapter Three~

Returning to meet up with Agent Carter who after seeing me stared in shock at my bloody side. Instantly she took us back inside and somewhere I could get checked out so that upon reaching a doctor office Steve had to let me go in by myself. While he went to have blood drawn, my side was looked at by two doctors who both whispered to themselves until I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Guys either shut up or tell me what's going on!" I snapped making one jump back as they had already finished stitch up my wound. Seeing me, the two doctors said,

"Well miss quite frankly you should be dead," he began as I felt myself stare at him in terror as he continued,

"With the amount of blood you lost by our calculations you shouldn't have been able to keep up let alone fight. You logically should be dead right now."

"But I'm not, I feel fine now." I told them both as I noticed a nurse had left the room while the second doctor told me,

"That's because—and we hope we're wrong—but we think you may have been exposed to the mixture that turned Mr. Rogers into—larger Mr. Rogers." at this I stared at the men before hopping off the table to find Steve. Though they tried to stop me I left the room anyway and when I heard Steve's voice followed it. Upon finding him along with Agent Carter it was easy to hear the determination and annoyance in Steve's voice.

"I asked for an army and all I got was you, and you aren't enough." 

"Then add me." I said stepping up next to Steve and as the rest of them looked at me like I was insane I shrugged saying,

"According to your brilliant doctors I should be dead right now. Thanks however to Super Soldier Steve here I'm not, oh yeah and thanks to Dr. Erskine. If it wasn't for him Steve would be the guy you had signed up for and I wouldn't be alive."

"What are you saying Hannah?" Steve asked clearly confused so that pulling my shirt up to reveal my stitches I told them all,

"I got the same drink you did, only in a much smaller dose. Back in the lab I got sliced with some glass which low and behold did enough to do the trick." lowering my shirt I heard the Coronel say,

"Then you're both science experiments."

"No sir, we're both people who want to do the right thing." I replied sharply glaring at the man who simply turned and walked away from the two of us. Glaring at his back, I heard Agent Carter talking to one of the two doctors who had checked me over. As she spoke to him a man stepped up saying how he felt the Coronel missed the point and showed us the paper. On the front page read 'Nazis in New York, Mystery Duo saves Child' with a picture of Steve and myself right there under it!

"Enlistment lines have been around the block since this has hit the newsstands. You don't take two soldiers, of either gender and hide them in a lab." then taking Steve's shoulder asked him if he wanted to serve his country and at this Steve said simply,

"That's all I wanted." I smiled before taking his arm in mine and added,

"But he's not going alone sir. He's got me." smiling down at me in return, Steve shook hands with the man who told him that he'd been promoted. That meant—selling out in a costume on a stage for Steve and me as is lady friend. By the time I got sick of it Steve was already in movie ads and on billboards and even comics. It wasn't until one day on stage that I proved why I was next to him; some smart ass threw a baseball from the seats and catching it in my hand threw it back at him with enough aim to get him square in the forehead—from the last row of the theater.

"You don't fight against America," I had told him throwing my pretty little sparkly headband off.

"You fight with America." from then on I was put in pants just like Steve and no sparks anywhere, then given my childhood nickname on signs—Ace. The first time we wound up in Europe was on a tour in **Italy** **1943** where all the soldiers did was catcall me.

"I'm sick of this." I snarled and so both of us walked off stage allowing the 'girls' to get back on and dance. I was in no way shape or form a dancing girl, or a dancing monkey which Steve was drawing after the show in the rain. Upon hearing Agent Carter's voice we both turned to see her while I asked,

"You're not supposed to be here are you?" so that skipping right over that she told us what a show that had been. Rolling my eyes at her and saying simply,

"There not twelve years old, but they have the brains of them."

"I understand that you're 'America's New Hope' Steve, and you're—" Agent Carter began so that I just kept glaring as I said,

"His sidekick which doesn't mean jack to me ma'am." as Steve glared at me for telling her off, I shrugged before she said,

"And being a dancing monkey or being a lab rat are your only two options? You both where meant for more than this." frowning at her words, I exhaled deeply as Steve put an arm around my shoulders. Always there to comfort me, even when he felt just as bad while Steve told her how for the longest time he'd wanted to come here and fight on the front lines.

"I finally got everything I wanted, and I'm wearing tights." he finished while I told him,

"At least you look good in them." which got a smile out of him as I nudged his side with my shoulder as a medic truck appeared carrying out a wounded soldier.

"They've been through hell." I muttered making Agent Carter reply,

"These men more than most. Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano, two hundred men went up against him, and less than fifty returned. Your audience contained what was left of the 107th. The rest were killed or captured." hearing this both Steve and I glanced at each other in horror, before taking off in the rain like mad. Upon reaching Coronel Phillips tent with Agent Carter behind us, who got reprimanded by the man it was Steve who asked about Bucky.

"We just need one name sir, please tell us he's alive." I snapped making him stare at me in annoyance since he didn't like me in the first place. Slowly standing up, he said how he hated signing condolence letters and how he was sorry. For a moment I felt frozen in my place as Steve asked about a rescue mission for the others. Only when I heard the Coronel tell Steve he was nothing but a chorus girl I snapped out of my painful moment.

"He's understands just fine sir, and so do I." I told him before storming out of the tent with Steve right behind me. He walked right up behind me and whispered,

"I know where to go."

"Lead the way." I grinned back at him so that quickly we ran to our tent and as Steve packed a bag I changed into dark blue pants, putting a matching shirt on only it had 'Ace' embroidered in golden lettering within a crimson star on the lapel. I added a 'borrowed' black jacket to the look just as Agent Carter appeared.

"What do you two plan to do walk to Austria?" she asked as I appeared with my hair tied in a braid around my shoulder so that giving her a look as she stared at me I replied,

"If we have to then yes."

"You heard the Coronel your friend is probably dead." she tried to reason only taking a step over to her I said very clearly,

"Listen, you don't know Steve or me well enough to understand something. We'd never give up on Bucky unless we had not a single choice left. We have one now—we're not going to give it up." Steve marched out of the tent with me following right behind as he loaded up a car.

"You told us you thought we were meant for more than this, did you mean that?" Steve asked her while I turned to see her face, honesty in her words as she said,

"Every word."

"Then you got to let us go." I replied giving her a nod before we both hopped into the car only she came up alongside it saying,

"I can do more than that." Steve smiled at her and then with her getting into the car, the three of us found ourselves inside a plane getting flown by Howard Stark himself. As Agent Carter told us where the camp was located and how far away she handed us both transponders that once we activated them would lead them right to us. At that moment gunfire exploded into the sky so that exchanging looks with Steve, we both made to get out of the plane. When she shouted at both of us it was Steve who simply told her,

"To hell we can't, I'm a Captain and she's my Second!" so that right after he jumped I followed.


	5. Four

**Since it's currently Snow Armageddon near where I live and I might lose power for who knows how long, I'm posting another chapter before then! I also want to thank 'ImaginaryArtist17' and 'Ameliemallete1' for reviewing. And to Ameliemallete1 I want to say "Merci pour mon premier commentaire en français!" lol**

Chapter Four~

After having landed and stashing out parachutes away deep in the brush, I followed Steve right up near the base seeing it was heavily guarded. While spotlights searched the dark forest it was Steve who noticed a convoy of trucks appearing. Seeing his train of thought I followed him right into the back of the last truck only to be greeted with two soldiers.

"Hey fellas." I grinned before Steve took the moment to throw each man out of the truck and onto the road. When the truck began to back up I stayed behind Steve with the shield from the shows in front of him, which he used to knock out the guard waiting on the other side. Hopping out of the truck, we both ran between massive tanks in the open so that as Steve leapt on top of one I got a boost up from him onto a roof. Putting a finger to his lips, I nodded and crouched down to run along the top of the roof so that after managing to get past the massive wall somehow made it inside. I stopped behind a door with Steve covering my back while I knocked twice to get a guard to open the door. After slamming his head in the door twice and a swift punch the guard was out cold, Steve dragged him backwards and I took the time to 'borrow' the guard's gun. Sneaking between strange looking machines and glowing blue lights it took a while before we found our way to the cell area so that as Steve knocked out yet another guard I took the moment to take the cell keys. Down below us several men were in a circular cell and as they looked up at us one asked,

"Who are you two supposed to be?"

"I'm Captain America." Steve said honestly while I added,

"Just call me Ace fellas." with that we began unlocking cell doors allowing every man to escape as some stared at me looking a bit clueless.

"What are we taking everybody?" one man asked with a bowler hat and mustache so that as Steve walked onwards I asked,

"We're looking for a Sargent James Barnes, anyone seen him?"

"There's an isolation ward in the factory but no one has ever come back from it." a man with a fedora told me as we all walked along the corridor so that it was Steve who told them all,

"The tree line is northwest about eighty yards past the gate. Get out fast and give them hell, we'll meet you guys in the clearing with anyone else we find." yet when someone asked if we knew what we were doing I rolled my eyes saying,

"He's knocked Adolf Hitler about two hundred times now and I'm the best female sharpshooter you'll ever know. Yeah, we know just what we're doing." as we ran off towards the factory an alarm began to sound causing guards to appear only with my aim either for the head, upper chest or lower stomach managed to take out anyone who Steve couldn't. Using his shield to knock men back, it wasn't hard for me to smack around the guards who mistook my gender for weakness. It didn't take too long before the two of us entered a long hallway where a short hat wearing man with glasses appeared. Taking aim to shoot him Steve lowered my gun upon hearing a voice muttering inside a room nearby. Upon entering the room we both saw Bucky lying on a table muttering blankly to himself as Steve began getting him free.

"Bucky, come on Bucky it's me Ace!" I said taking his face into my hands to meet his wandering gaze so that upon catching my eyes Bucky smiled half-awake saying,

"Ace." nodding to him and smiling, Steve helped him upright and onto his feet though he swayed a bit once grounded.

"We thought you were dead." Steve told him as Bucky replied honestly,

"I thought you were smaller, and you weren't coming." rolling my eyes I smirked at him saying,

"And let you boys have all the fun? Never." Steve helped carry some of his weight as we both lead Bucky out of the room while he asked Steve,

"What happened to you?"

"I joined the Army, and Ace got in on good behavior." mock laughing at his words, I checked the hallway as the two behind me raced for the exit. While the three of us ran we heard dozens of explosions we entered back into the factory up on the catwalks and noticed down below us everything had exploded. With the flames creating an amazing amount of heat, we kept climbing until we heard a voice cry,

"Captain America how exciting! I'm a great fan of your films." so that appeared a man who had to be Schmidt and the short glasses wearing man from before. When Schmidt's gaze caught mine I glared right on back as he added,

"And his dancing side girl, how pleasant." making me snarl before he continued,

"So Dr. Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement but still impressive." Steve was standing before Schmidt and as he punched the man right in the face, I stood right by Bucky helping him just stand upright. Upon seeing the man punch right into Steve's shield and Steve's gun go tumbling off the side of the catwalk, I took three steps forward with gun aimed saying,

"Go on pal, make me angry." though as the catwalk began to pull apart in two Schmidt shouted at both of us,

"No matter what lies Erskine told you, you see I was his greatest success!" while he removed his face—his whole damn face to reveal a bright red skull underneath. Staring in shock at him so that I lowered my gun, the deranged man kept shouting at us before I grew sick of his words and began firing not at them, but at the ground at their feet. This caused them to jump inside an elevator to escape while the factory continued to explode around us. Out of ammo now, I glared at the elevator as Steve led Bucky and I up higher up having spied a door to escape. Problem was that upon seeing no way across but a metal beam that Steve had Bucky and I go first. Since I was the lightest the beam hardly moved yet upon Bucky trying to get across under his weight the beam kept shifting and slipping downwards. Halfway across the beam finally began to fall so that he had to jump for it, with me grabbing his lower arm and hauling him over the side. Turning to see Steve with no way across he shouted at the two of us,

"Just go, get out of here!"

"No not without you!" Bucky screamed so that as I looked around for a rope or something instead I watched Steve move back making me realize—he was going to jump! Holding my breath, I pulled Bucky back as Steve bent the railing before taking a running jump right over the fiery mass below him. Somehow in some way unknown to anyone but those who were there, when morning began to rise Steve, Bucky and myself found ourselves leading every last man we helped escape right towards the American camp. As the whole camp began cheering, clapping and whistling I just walked right next to Steve with Bucky on the other side. Exchanging glances at one another, I smiled when Bucky put a hand on my shoulder and shook it. Reaching Coronel Phillips who stood before us, Steve saluted while I said,

"Some of these men need medical attention, some are hurt worse than others."

"And I'd like to surrender myself for disciplinary actions." Steve said so that glancing over at his determined face I put a hand on his shoulder saying,

"Whatever punishment he receives, I deserve it too. Besides I'm a gal not a soldier." though glancing between the two of us, Coronel Phillips sighed telling us,

"That won't be necessary, and miss you're not just a gal—you're a soldier also." hearing that from the last man I expected to, I nodded and held back a smile that fought its way onto my face. As Agent Carter stepped up next to Steve, I hung back near Bucky who looked sheepish for once.

"Hey, good to have you back." I told him so that smiling at me, Bucky took an arm and putting it around my shoulders said,

"Yeah, right next to you where I belong." before he shouted,

"Hey, let's hear it for Captain America and Ace!" which got endless cheers from everyone as he held onto me tightly while Steve just looked around proudly. While the men began to be checked in and treated, Steve followed behind the Coronel who wanted to speak with him. I stayed behind however telling him,

"Go on Punk, I'll catch up." so that now I sit beside Bucky who's getting a good meal into him. Laughing at his endless appetited, I handed him a canteen of water which he took asking,

"So you tagged along with Steve to save the day huh?" frowning at his tone of voice, I shook my head telling him,

"No, I tagged along to save you." scoffing slightly, Bucky shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. Watching him from the side, I noticed how he had dark circles under his eyes and worry lines on his forehead.

"They made me into a lab rat," he began exhaling deeply as I put an arm around him while he continued,

"Poked and prodded me until I was left on that table. Thought I was gonna die there."

"But you didn't Bucky, you're right here and I'm not letting you out of my sights again."


	6. Five

**Ok ladies and gents, the moment has come—can you guess what that is?**

Chapter Five~

The three of us found ourselves in England soon after that, working for the SSR with Steve planning down where he'd seen other HYDRA bases. He'd been promoted yet made sure that I stayed right at his side during the whole thing. He kept saying how I'd earn my place right next to him, and if anyone doubted otherwise to take it up with him. Though unofficially working for both the Army and the SSR, I still got my badges of honor from everyone else who had been there. The men accepted me right along with them, treated me just like any other soldier and respected me not just because of my actions—but because I didn't let them get to my head. I was still just old Hannah Cohen from Brooklyn but now everyone proudly referred to me as Ace, best sharpshooter they'd seen in action. One night at the nearby bar I sat next to Bucky who was drowning himself in booze. I knew why, for the longest time he'd been the 'hero' and now was playing second fiddle to the famous Captain America. Shaking my head, I took a sip of my own drink as Steve came right on over to sit at our table.

"See I told you, they're all idiots." Bucky told Steve taking another sip of his beer while I rolled my eyes at him.

"How about you two, ready for follow Captain America into the jaws of death?" Steve wondered only Bucky shook his head saying,

"Hell no, that little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight. I'm following him." while taking another sip of his beer I put my arm around Bucky's not saying a word, but Steve could clearly see I wasn't just worried about him—but Bucky too.

"But you're keeping the outfit right?" I teased finally making the two of them chuckle as Steve replied mildly,

"You know what? It's kind of growing on me."

"Yeah but don't sign me up for anything with sparkles on it." I added before we noticed a woman wearing a red dress appear. Standing up, the three of us nodded at Agent Carter who said something about equipment for Steve and me to try. Noticing Bucky not really paying any attention I held onto his arm to let him know I was right there for him. His reply was to put a hand on my waist and give enough of a tug to tickle me. Glaring up at his cheeky grin, we watched Agent Carter leave as Bucky told Steve,

"I'm invisible, I'm turning into you it's like a horrible nightmare."

"Don't take it so personal." Steve said patting his shoulder before walking off after giving me a nod goodbye. Watching Bucky's reaction, I nudged his shoulder getting his attention to turn towards me.

"What am I? Am I invisible too?" I asked so that shaking his head, Bucky ran the hand that had been on my waist through his hair exhaling deeply. At his none answer I just nodded and hurt, began to leave the same way Steve had gone.

"Ah Ace come on!" I heard Bucky say chasing after me so that as I kept walking I listened as he explained,

"It's just—weird you know? I'm so used to being—" only at this I cut him off and turning to face him asked hotly,

"What? Number one at everything? The guy who sweeps gal's off their feet while dancing? Guess I'm foolish enough to think you'd even notice me. Apparently I'm just another person you know and not your best friend."

"You're my best friend yeah but it's just—hard to see you all made up as a soldier instead of that feisty dame I knew." he said honestly with a shrug of his shoulders before stepping up before me and tucking some of my pale honey blonde hair behind an ear added,

"You've always been my number one girl, don't think that's changed at all." not believing his words for a moment I just moved to leave again when he pulled me right behind a bookshelf nearby and pressed me to the back wall. With a hand on either side of my head I didn't have a chance to respond before he was kissing me. When I didn't respond he put a hand on my hip and pulled me flush to him as his other hand buried itself in my hair. Gently taking my lower lip into his mouth and nipping at it, he soothed the bite with his tongue which elected a moan out of me. Letting go of my lips he trailed kisses down my neck and nipped the flesh just below my ear before pushing his hips against me and moved them enough to feel his need. Putting his lips to my ear, Bucky pushed again hushing out,

"Do you know how long I've wanted to do that? How many times I've wanted nothing more than to kiss you senseless and show you exactly how I felt." something about the timber in his voice made me melt against him as I held on for dear life. Pulling back to look at me, he grinned that boyish smile before murmuring against my lips,

"Now do you believe me?" just able to nod, I heard someone clear their throat and breaking apart found Steve behind us looking amused.

"How long have you been standing there?" Bucky asked making the other man shrug and reply,

"Just for a minute, Ace you got some new equipment to try out with Mr. Stark." rolling my eyes at him, I moved past Bucky but not before getting a kiss on the cheek. Arriving where Mr. Stark was building equipment for the other men, I found him working on a rounded shield for Steve. My gift from Mr. Stark was a new sniper gun which not only had a clear light target which wouldn't be seen unless through the scope, but more than five rounds of ammo per gun. I also got a new uniform same as Steve; with all navy blue pants and shirt combo, on either side of each the labels where wings while right under that on the right side was a crimson star where inside was a golden 'A'. Not too long later Steve led the team, the Howling Commandos into action taking out every HYDRA base we could. Destroying base after base, taking out every man who crossed us, I kept my nickname sharpshooting from nearly any location. Up high I could pick off men one by one, on the ground used any gun with enough bullets to remove rows of men and easily held my own with the others. It wasn't until the winter of **1945** that the Howling Commandos found ourselves on a mountain side waiting out a train that we had gathered information was carrying a massive load of weapons.

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" Bucky asked Steve as we all looked down the wire we'd have to use to board the train far below us. Smirking at the memory as I piped up,

"And Steve threw up, oh yes I remember." so that it was Bucky who asked Steve,

"This isn't pay back is it?" only shrugging Steve wondered trying to hide a smirk,

"Now why would I do that?" just as Gabe Jones told us Dr. Zola was indeed on the train and speeding off because Dr. Zola happened to be on that train. James Montgomery was the lookout who said to us,

"Then let's get going because they're moving like the Devil." as Steve hooked his handle onto the line he explained we only had a ten second window.

"Then let's get moving buddies!" I cried watching Steve go down the line first followed by Bucky, then me then lastly Gabe to provide cover. While Steve, Bucky and I climbed into a train car we each took a row down towards the next door however when Steve went through the door it shut. Blocking Bucky and I from Steve, guards appeared behind Bucky and I so that we each took a side of the train. While Bucky shot down one row, I picked off men coming down the other, each of us quickly running out of ammo. Bucky switched to his handgun while I tried to reload so that as a guard got too close Bucky moved right in the open to cover me and shoot the offending guard. Suddenly the door behind us opened and Steve tossed an extra gun to Bucky while he used his shield to get the guard out from his hiding place. With a few shots the guard went down while Bucky panted,

"I had him on the ropes." so that when we all heard the sound of a gun charging Steve used his shield to cover himself while Bucky pushed me out of the way. Just barely getting hit himself, I watched Bucky pick up Steve's fallen shield standing right next to a blasted gap in the train.

"Bucky!" I screamed watching him go flying out of the gap so that as Steve took out the man with the double gun I was already going over to help Bucky. Carefully I inched my way across a bar overhead seeing Bucky clinging onto another bar with his feet dangling to the ground.

"Hold on Bucky, hold on!" I cried managing to make it across to grab his wrist just as Steve appeared to help pull us both back into the train. Yet every time Bucky tried to move the bar he was holding onto would slip putting more pressure on my own hold.

"Come on Ace grab my hand!" Steve shouted only I wasn't about to let go of Bucky's hand, and Steve damn well knew that. Giving a look at Steve with misty eyes, I turned to look back at Bucky and smiled despite the fact the bar had just broke. Because of his weight on my hand which I never let go of, I lost hold on the bar keeping me on the train. As Bucky screamed from the fright of falling, I kept ahold of his sleeve closing my eyes. I waited for impact, to feel the ground snap my back in half or something to stab into my flesh. I waited for excruciating pain to numb my body or set it aflame with agony. Only instead I felt nothing; no pain or stabbing, no ground or even water. I just felt cold, extreme cold swallow my body into a stinging numbness. My eyes stared up at a pale blue endless sky though blinking was nearly impossible. The numbness was freezing my flesh even from under my clothes as the sky slowly turned to nothing but blackness. As everything began to fade away I thought I heard my name being whimpered nearby, but couldn't say for sure if I wasn't just hearing things. Slowing my breathing, I began moving or being pulled along. That made literally everything hurt as I forced my eyes to crack open and see a soldier carrying a gun behind me. Confused and shaking, I whimpered as the pain finally arrived causing my body to spasm in sheer agony. It wasn't until lights blinded me that I realized something—I wasn't dead after my million mile fall. Yet if I wasn't dead then where the hell was Bucky?


	7. Six

**I have to once again thank everyone who reviewed, 'the-only-soldier-left' for making me laugh. This chapter has ALL THE FEELS in it and for that I'm sorry for. However it had to happen to have you understand the mindset of both Ace and Bucky. And yes I know it might not be totally correct but it's a fanfiction for a reason right? With that, let the drama and feels begin!**

Chapter Six~ **Two Months Later, HYDRA Soviet Union Facility**

Everything hurt, my whole entire body felt as if I had been torn into pieces then stitched back together again by a rusty needle with barbwire thread. Opening my eyes seemed like an impossible task yet somehow I managed. The light overhead blinded me so that I had to blink several times quickly before the haze over everything went away. Once able to see clearly, I found myself in a very crude hospital room with only the bed I was lying in and two medical pieces of equipment; a heart rate monitor and IV for medicine. Exhaling a breath that felt as if it had been frozen in my lungs, I looked around the room before remembering something—Bucky! At the thought I forced myself into an upright position before fighting off the dizziness. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed caused the heart rate monitor to start letting out a sharp ringing sound. Instantly I pulled off the sticker that was attached to the machine causing it to go silent. Looking down at myself to find I was wearing white pants and shirt made me nauseous to think someone had changed my outfit. Even so, on shaky legs I made it to the door and slowly opened it to see a long narrow hallway. There were only six doors in total with the one I was exiting being at the end of the hallway.

"Where am I?" I muttered taking slow steady steps to find Bucky or anyone familiar, maybe even Steve. Passing a door to my right I heard faint talking and so putting my ear to the door heard a voice I knew by heart.

"Bucky!" I breathed out opening the door to find a sight that made me cry out behind my hand. There he lay on a table, not bed, with his limbs locked to the table itself. Only one arm was missing just under the shoulder though wrapped in a bandage. He looked pale and almost tinted blue as I went over to his side saying to him,

"Bucky, come on snap out of it!" slapping his cheek as hard as I could startled him enough to get his eyes back into focus. Turning to see me, Bucky smiled a lazy grin as he mumbled,

"Ace—you're ok." nodding as I fought back tears, I looked around for a way to get him free before finding a control pad on the wall. Going over to it, I looked over the buttons to hear Bucky say,

"The blue one." after pressing the blue one I heard the locks 'SNAP' off and turned to see Bucky trying to remove the one on his right arm—with the arm that wasn't there. Going over to his right side to unlock his arm he asked me,

"What's wrong Ace?" so that once able to sit upright he found out—his left arm was gone and only a bandage remained.

"What did they do to me?" he whispered before we both heard footsteps, more than one pair while I helped Bucky remove his legs. Somehow he managed to swing himself off the table and look around for a weapon as the door opened again. In walked four doctors and a man in a dark gray suit who stood in front of them. Instantly Bucky put me behind his good side as the man with black hair slicked back and wearing the dark gray suit said,

"Glad to see you both awake."

"Where the hell are we?" Bucky sneered backing the two of us up towards a corner as the men crept up closer towards us.

"Where you both are is no longer important, what is important is that you two shall shape the history of the globe. Your mission is not yet complete." the man told us as the four doctors moved to grab me despite Bucky trying to keep them away. Somehow one managed to grab me and the four began hauling me away, two holding my arms while the other two walked behind.

"BUCKY!" I screamed trying to fight them only I felt so weak already that it was damn near impossible. I heard shouting and cries and even a growl believe it or not from the room behind me, turning to see more men had Bucky in a contraption around his neck. They were actually dragging him by his neck! Continuing to fight the men off of me, I was forced into a large rectangular room that was clearly a laboratory. Dozens of machines lined the walls and were scattered about the place, men with mask covering the lower half of their face turning to see the two of us being forced inside.

"Welcome Sergeant Barnes and Fraulein Cohen to our research facility! Isn't it beautiful?!" the man in the dark gray suit cried waving his arms open as if trying to hug the room. As he spoke I watched the men forcing Bucky along towards a twisted looking chair. With two metal pieces overhead, the chair had arm and leg straps of metal that Bucky was forced into. Both his legs and one good arm were strapped into the machine as his head was free—increasing his terror. Looking to see me still trying to break free, Bucky shouted,

"Let her go damn it! Take me and let her go!"

"Oh but we will let her go Sargent Barnes, her whole mind will be 'let go' and made free. However—we need to continue our work on you first. So for the time being—" the man said to him turning to wave a hand at another machine. This one looked like a large metal coffin where inside swirled blue smoke.

"The Cryostasis Chamber! Isn't it a sight?! We've been perfecting it for this very moment, trial and error happened of course. Test subjects died from the freezing process and thawing removal but that was to be expected. Now however it's ready for its first subject!" realizing he meant me, Bucky continued to thrash about to break free as the man went over to stand by him. Patting his bad shoulder, the man smiled something wicked as he said,

"And now Sargent, to remove those pesky memories." and then stepping back from the machine, I watched the two raised metal pieces rotate to be right over his face. One part covered an eye while the other sparked with electricity.

"Stop it! You'll kill him!" I screamed but the man just turned around to say,

"Then let's hope not." at that the machine sparked with electricity that actually began zapping at Bucky's head. His endless screaming and crying made my heart shatter as I was made to keep watching. A whole ten minutes they kept that up until at last the machine died down and Bucky's head lay limp on the table. Thinking he was dead I dropped to my knees sobbing as the man went over and tapped Bucky on the bad shoulder. After a few moments Bucky opened his eyes and looked around, clearly confused.

"How do you feel then?" he asked Bucky who continued to look around and then ask,

"Where am I?"

"You are home my son. Home at long, long last for you'd been lost—yet we found you and brought you home." the man lied smoothly yet I shouted,

"Don't listen to him Bucky!" so that his head lifted up to see me—only there was no sign of recognition in his pale blue eyes. In fact, his eyes looked as if ice had swallowed the very life within him. Finally I was made to stand up and pushed towards the ice chamber shouting for Bucky. Only upon hearing,

"Who's Bucky?" knew that whatever they did to him—was against anything good or even remotely Holy on this Earth. Sobbing as I was placed inside the bitterly cold chamber, I could feel my tears freezing on my face as the man came over with a dangerous grin on his face.

"Just go to sleep my dear, this is just a bad dream that you shall wake up from soon. Then you shall help us create a brighter, better world!" he told me only I spat in his face and told him in as strong a voice I could muster,

"Go to Hell you bastard." however upon him laughing I watched the chamber door begin to close over me as the man said,

"Already been there—and now you're going." so that then the lid was sealed over my body, my fist banging on the lid in vain. Slowly I felt horribly freezing ice start to creep over my skin, trying to sink into my lungs even. I thought of my parents, of the time I met Steve and Bucky, the night Bucky was to go off to Europe and the night Steve was enlisted. I tried to remember traveling around with Steve when he began known as Captain America, going to Europe with him and to save Bucky from Zola and Schmidt. I tried to remember the faces of all the Howling Commandos, their names and laughter. Bucky kissing me, destroying HYDRA bases, Bucky kissing me—slowly however it was getting extremely hard to breathe. Every breath felt strained and made me want to scream—but I couldn't. Closing my eyes tightly, I said silently in my head,

"Whatever happens Bucky—I'll always be with you. I'm right here and I'm never letting you out of my heart again." I could see the inky void of Death looming over my head as I exhaled for the last time. With that breath I said one word,

"Bucky."

 **Bucky's Thoughts, HYDRA Soviet Union Facility** ~

Hearing that horribly familiar young woman screaming that name made no sense to me; who was she talking to? Surly not me. Yet even so she had been staring right at me, crying and pleading to me with jade eyes for something. I watched with conflicting emotions her be put into a machine that once the lid was over her body she was gone. I could even see ice forming inside the small window where her face was. When she stopped moving at long last I felt—empty. It was almost as if she'd taken the last part of my very existence with her into the ice. But who was she? And why couldn't I remember her?! Suddenly a flash of an image went through my mind; of me kissing that young woman. Need, trust, understand and more importantly love filled my whole body as my heart and mind told me one name; Ace. Her name was Ace and I'd lost her to a frozen Hell—and with that knowledge—froze my heart.


	8. Seven

Chapter Seven~ **Washington DC, 2014**

Waking from Cryostasis was the hardest thing to force yourself to do, outside of the Chair that is. Your entire body feels horribly numb, as if encased in ice, before the burning begins from that ice melting. Usually while waking from cryo I'd be in my quarters lying on the bed fighting back the pain. Pain is a weakness that can't be shown—ever. As I lie on the bed in my quarters waiting for the fire on my skin to fade, I notice a shadow standing by the doorway. In the dim light one could make out that the figure was male with their arms crossed over their chest. Said figure stood motionless as if they weren't even breathing as a gleam in the dim light revealed the metal arm. He must have noticed me looking at him because the figure came over on silent feet towards me. Taking up a large glass of water with a straw, he slowly and gently helped me to sit upright against the pillows. The metal arm and hand that could easily crush someone's windpipe was hardly touching me, treating me as if I was glass. Once sitting up I took the glass into my shaking hand to greedily drink the water. As the soothing coolness went down my throat I watch the figure turn to leave yet they paused when I called out softly,

"I still trust you Soldier." making the nefarious assassin known as the Winter Soldier glance over his shoulder and give me a small up-turn of the lips. A smile he kept just for me, a smile no one else in HYDRA knew existed. Then he was gone from my quarters letting me slowly force myself to swing my legs over the side of the bed. My quarters are standard issue for someone working at HYDRA save for the fact I had my own private bathroom. The only items in the room where the twin size bed, nightstand, two shelf high burrow for standard clothes, not armor, and a lamp on the nightstand. After allowing myself a nice lukewarm shower, I changed into black cargo pants just tight enough to show I was a woman, a long sleeve shirt that I rolled up to the elbows and black combat boots. Looking at my reflection in the mirror I frowned at my features; white honey blond hair had been pulled into a braid alongside my head, hollow jade eyes had only a sliver of light in them and then there was the scar. Running from my left collarbone down to curve over my heart, I never knew where I got it from only that I've had it forever. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I step back out of the bathroom to go to the gym. I needed to get back into shape for the next mission. Walking down the hallways of the HYDRA base with head held high, no one dared to interrupt me. They all knew better, unless you where the Leader, Brock Rumlow or Jack Rollins you never would dare mess with me. Nearly a century of some of the top assassinations known to the World, the most dangerous missions under taken, the amount of important politicians, delegate, rulers and government officials removed, I've proven myself over and over again. I was the 'Pale Shadow', a codename loosely based on the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse known as Death for I had no reason to leave behind survivors or even care that I didn't. The only other person who's been by my side for that length of time was known as the Winter Soldier. We trained together, went on missions together, fought together and carried the future of HYDRA on our shoulders. Upon reaching the gym I found Soldier already there destroying a punching bag and watched the sand filled bag go flying across the room.

"What did that sandbag every do to you?" I teased watching as he retrieved another punching bag from the closet where they stored the extras. The metal arm that had been so careful with me now was furiously punching the sandbag as I move over towards him. Seeing me out of the corner of his bitter pale blue eyes, Soldier suddenly pivoted on his heel to try and punch me. Yet I knew every action he'd make just seconds after he made them and easily dodged it by ducking low and to one side. Seeing him panting heavily, I frowned and asked him,

"What's wrong?" only instead of answering my question Soldier turned and began removing the tape from his flesh hand. Crossing my arms over my chest to wait, he knew as well as I that I could stand and wait just as he could stand and not talk. So finally he spoke up saying,

"You were in cryo for too long." raising an eyebrow at this since sometimes the two of us spent YEARS in a frozen state of life, he elaborated adding,

"I had been removed two months before they agreed to remove you." this surprised me to be honest, everyone who was anyone who worked at HYDRA knew Soldier and Shadow worked side by side. For him to go on a mission without me was as if he didn't have his metal arm—nearly unthinkable. Seeing my reaction, Soldier turned to me as he said through grit teeth,

"When they released you they did it extra slow, watching your heartrate drop below the Stop Line before starting to revive you." the 'Stop Line' was basically 'Flat Lining' for a normal persons heart. For someone who's been through cryo before it would take more than a normal heart to make it stop beating. Other than being killed instantly of course, Stop Line was a dangerously low level for both Soldier and my own heartbeat. Now I understood his rage, they had done that just to drill into his head that I was HYDRA's property and not in control of my own body—my own mind. Exhaling deeply, I put my hand on his metal shoulder which only I could touch without incident. Giving him a tiny smile same as he had given me in my quarters, I stepped back saying,

"Want to spar with me? Have to warm up these muscles before the next mission."

"Which is in two days." a voice spoke up making the two of us turn to see who'd spoken, Brock Rumlow. One of the Leaders top men in charge, he always thought of new and interesting ways to make Soldier furious. Those ways normally revolved around my very existents since I was the only female within HYDRA. Though Soldier had made it damn clear that I was under his protection when he'd nearly crushed Rumlow's windpipe. That however landed Soldier in Lock-Up without food or water for a month allowing Rumlow to try everything and anything in his bag of tricks to get to me. Sauntering over towards the two of us, Rumlow smirked at me getting a growl out of Soldier.

"Relax big guy, I just came on orders to see how Shadow was doing."

"I'm fine thanks." I hissed as he smirked saying,

"You wanted a sparring partner didn't you?" knowing his game, I moved towards the sparring ring and dodged the Soldier's hand. Giving him a deadly grin, Soldier moved to the side of the ring to watch as Rumlow and I stepped inside. Little did Rumlow know that I had tucked a dagger in my boot as always. Taking a defense position, Rumlow charged me with a fury of punches and kicks which I blocked or deflected easily. Despite having just gotten out of cryo, thanks to HYDRA's technology I was still twice as fast with my reflexes, strong with my punches and kicks—just over all better. Growing bored with my defense, Rumlow snapped,

"Come at me!" so taking his offer moved to the offensive with my own round of punches and kicks. Yet somehow Rumlow managed to swipe my feet from out under me causing me to have to spring into a backflip in just two seconds otherwise I'd fall down. However once standing back up Rumlow roundhouse kicked me in the side.

"Growing slow are you?" he taunted making me snarl at him as he began to play dirty, just like every other time we sparred. It wasn't until the two of us hit the mat that he rolled over to try and put his boot on my throat. However by then I had removed the dagger in my boot to force him onto his back with said dagger against his throat. Putting my knee on his stomach and other hand by his head, the daggers edge made the tiniest slice on his skin as I hissed at him,

"I was just waiting for you to mess up." before he could do anything I was already up on my feet, out of the sparring ring and had grabbed a towel. Seeing him sit up in the ring holding his neck I gave him an overly sweet smile. Glancing at Soldier, the two of us left Rumlow in the gym as we headed for our shared Locker Storage. After punching in the code that only the two of us and the Leader knew, we went in to check our gear. A never ending array of guns, ammo, daggers, knives and explosives waited for us behind the door with two separate changing rooms for Soldier and myself. As we did inventory of our gear like checking how much ammo for each gun we had, making sure the guns were in working order Soldier told me,

"You played dirty." making me roll my eyes and say,

"I was bored." I was just able to hear his chuckle as a knock sounded on the door and Rollin's voice called,

"Mission debriefing in five." with that we exited the Locker Storage and walked side by side down the hallway. Reaching the Leaders office, the graying blond haired man stood from behind his desk putting his hands behind his back.

"Files are on the table." he said as the two of us picked up a file each with information on our next mission. A picture of a bald African American stared back at me, one of his eyes covered by an eyepatch with the name 'Nicolas J Fury' underneath.

"That man is in charge of people who could stop HYDRA's mission for peace. To continue our great work you two must remove him from the playing field." the Leader told us as I flipped through the pictures to see one with the Target and another man. With short blond hair and dark blue eyes, he was muscular with broad shoulders reminding me sort of like Soldier. Yet something about his face, something about his smile made a flash appear before my eyes. Only as soon as it appeared it was gone as I heard the Leader say,

"Two days from now we will have moved the Target to an area where you will be able to take him out. We already have men in District police gear mapping streets and routs for the mission." glancing back up at the Leader who waved a dismissive hand saying,

"Go prepare." we both left his office taking our files with us while heading for the Locker Storage once more. After stepping inside the Locker Storage when I went to open my locker a metal hand slammed it shut.

"What's wrong?" Soldier asked me with only a twinge of worry in his voice as I turned to see him and say,

"Nothing." I wasn't about to tell him of the flash image because I knew what it was, a memory, and I wasn't allowed to have any. Memories where dangerous and I knew that, I'd just have to forget.


	9. Eight

Chapter Eight~

The next morning I woke from a nightmare, my breathing coming out in pants and my knuckles white gripping the sheets. Sweat dotted my forehead as I grasped onto the remains of the nightmare; snowy mountains, a train speeding along, someone screaming before I go falling into a void. Shaking my head, I wash my face in my bathroom before checking the clock. It was six am which made me realize I had been asleep longer than normal. Usually I'd be lucky with three or four hours of sleep but this morning I had had six full hours before my nightmare woke me. Getting dressed in all black, I left my quarters for the Cafeteria where I found Soldier already eating. After grabbing a tray of food I sat before him at the table we share and began to eat.

"You're late." he commented making me shrug instead of verbally respond to him. He just scoffed before continued to eat as I glanced up at him. Soldier had been in my nightmare too, on the same train as me. That thought made me frown as I went back to eating yet heard a voice say from beside the table,

"Shadow you have a recon mission." it was Rumlow who when I stood to clean my tray I noticed had a bandage around his neck. Internally smiling, I just nodded before once done with my tray followed him. He handed me a file explaining,

"We have been given false information from a source, we need you to get what's required and remove the Target along the way." scanning the information and then handing him the file as we stopped before Locker Storage, he grabbed my arm in his hand.

"Don't think I don't know, I see how you two share smirks at one another." he hissed only at his words I punched him square in the nose. As blood came down, I entered the Locker Storage biting my lip to not smile. With the door shut I changed into the only civilian outfit I had; dark blue jeans with my combat boots, a blood crimson top and black leather jacket. Pulling my hair to one side of my head, I left the locker with a small backpack. Inside the backpack was a 9mm Glock handgun with silencer, extra ammo and a small device that would stop any metal detector from picking up the metal of the guns and disk drive to hack a computer. In my belt I had two daggers and a radio to give information to whoever was covering my mission. Today it was Rollin's and getting into the black van from the parking lot under the base. Sitting in silence behind the front seats, I reread the information given to me before pulling out the picture I had stolen. It was the one of the blond haired man torn from the file, for some reason I felt compelled to keep it. Tucking it back into my pocket, the driver dropped me off two blocks from the Target's townhouse as Rollin's told me,

"Meet on the National Mall behind the main building." just nodding, I shut the van door and not even watching it drive off before heading for the Target's townhouse. Upon reaching the block I stepped into an alleyway behind the row of townhouses since the third townhouse belonged to the Target. Seeing the fire escape behind the row of townhouses I rolled my eyes. Too easy, with a swift jump off a dumpster I began climbing up to the roof. Reaching the rooftops of the townhouses, I crouched so low I nearly touched the ground with my stomach. Stopping on the rooftop of the Target's townhouse, I used my dagger to unlock the window on the top floor. Slipping inside, I found myself in the Target's guest bedroom thanks to the pictures provided letting me know where the best entry and exit points where. According to the information on the Target, he'd be in his private gym in the basement while his office was on the third floor where I was now. As I entered the hallway outside the guest bedroom I spotted a snarling Doberman which I took out with a sleeper dart. Entering the office, I got out the disk drive that would hack, remove and then delete anything required for the mission. Meanwhile I took the time to enter the basement gym and find the Target drinking water. Pulling out my 9mm Glock with silencer, I shot four times into his head from all the way across the room about four feet away from atop the staircase. When he landed dead in a pool of his own blood I smirked saying,

"Hail HYDRA." before returning to the office to pull out the disk drive and then leave through the same window I had entered. Locking it back up again, I climbed off the rooftop and onto the ground having finished in just under two hours, maybe less. Seeing that I had another two hours before pick up with time to spare in order to reach the National Mall, I waved down a taxi and climbed in for it to take me there. Knocking the driver out with a chloroform rag mixed with cyanide when he asked why he was driving me behind an office building, I got out and easily made my way to the National Mall. However upon reaching the area I noticed several dozen colorful flags reading 'Captain America Exhibit, Air and Space Museum' hanging on lampposts. Hearing the same scream from my nightmare tear a hole through my mind, I had no need or reason to go to the Air and Space Museum but instead a strong overwhelming feeling that I had to. Buying a ticket and passing my 'gun free' backpack into the building, I followed the crowd to the Exhibit Hall where inside I found myself staring at objects, pictures, video footage and even outfits. Only at every item from the mural of a group known as Howling Commandos, from a motorcycle to even the outfits made alarm bells go off in my head. I was lost in my own head until I heard,

"Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division." at that I felt myself growing sick. HYDRA was a part of the Nazi's? Didn't I work for HYDRA? Why if they were talking about HYDRA hadn't anyone stopped to think they still existed? Was HYDRA just a made up game for men with guns and snobby arrogant pricks to play? My train of thought however was broken yet again by hearing,

"Mommy I want to be just like Ace!" at this I spun around from my spot near the exit to see a young child with her mother who replied,

"One day maybe Hannah." two words slapped me in the face as if hitting a brick and concrete wall, who where they talking about? Making my way over towards the voices, I spotted a glass wall—with my face etched into the glass! Eyes widening in alarm, I read the name 'Ace Cohen' and felt myself turning white. However I came to my senses when I noticed someone in a baseball hat coming towards me. Quickly bolting for the exit with my mind racing as fast as my feet where moving, I didn't stop until I was across the street and heard,

"Hannah wait!" and so turning saw a face that made my heart freeze in my chest as if being put under Cryostasis again. I didn't dwell on it as a bus passed and I vanished from the spot to meet up with a waiting Rollins. Handing him the backpack saying,

"Hail HYDRA." he didn't suspect a thing since he probably thought I was out of breath getting here, or running from someone. Getting back into the black van a block away, I sat the whole ride back to base with my mind scrambled. Why did people know about HYDRA if we didn't exist? How was it that the name 'Ace Cohen' made my heart ache? And why did that man seem to know me enough to chase me? Seeing us arriving at the base, I stormed out in a fury towards the Locker Storage to change before my Mission Report to the Leader. Slamming the door of Locker Storage behind me, I threw off my jacket and began peeling off my shirt when I heard,

"Someone's angry." and found Soldier just in his combat boots and cargo pants, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Shut up." I snapped back at him turning my back to him as I grabbed a clean shirt and began pulling mine off. Just about to put the clean black shirt on I felt Soldier step up behind me, our bodies almost touching as he said next to my ear,

"Make me." unable to suppress the shiver either from the events at the museum, the cold of the room or the fact he was so close to my body, I pulled the shirt over my sports bra and muttered to myself. A knock on the door and voice calling out,

"Mission report." had me walking around Soldier though before leaving told him,

"I still trust you." yet before I could see or hear any reply was already down the hall behind Rollin's. When I finished giving the Leader my Mission Report it was already past the third meal of the day so instead I went to the gym. With each punch and kick of the bag I kept hearing 'Ace' and 'Howling Commando's' and even the sound of a train and screaming. Letting out an annoyed filled scream, I clutched my head trying to squeeze the thoughts out of my mind. I didn't want to go back to the Chair so soon! Having that in mind, I returned to my quarters and after a shower dug around in the dresser for a small pill bottle. The doctors had made these pills, small red capsules that had liquid in them, for Soldier and I to take in between missions if anything began resurfacing. So after taking two with some water from the sink, I climbed into bed and drifted off for a four hours night sleep. When morning came I was already dressed in my tactical gear, had checked my guns and ammo for the mission ahead before both Soldier and I left the parking lot in a black town car. Inside I sat fidgeting with my zipper as Soldier sat cleaning a gun.

"What happened?" he asked under his mask, his goggles not yet on so that I met his bitter pale blue eyes with my hollow jade ones.

"Nothing." I replied as the town car came to a stop and we exited to hear from the driver,

"Target is being directed this way, will be here in three minutes." shutting the car door and putting on my own half mask with goggles, I stood by Soldier as we waited for the signal. It would take the form of the traffic light, any color at the moment, to turn green. Watching for it, when the light changed from red to green the two of us stepped out of the alley. Seeing the black car belonging to the Target up ahead, Soldier raised his gun that would send a disk explosive and I raised my sniper gun that would fire a medium size explosive orb. At the same time we both pulled the trigger watching the car flip upwards in a fiery explosion. Wrapping an arm around my middle, Soldier pulled me away from the danger of flying glass to protect me with his back. When the speeding fire ball passed he let go even if I had felt his heat underneath his Kevlar bullet proof vest. Turning to see the car now on its hood down the block, we both stormed for it almost in step with the other. However when Soldier ripped the car door off the car itself with his metal hand, we found the car empty save for a hole burnt into the car roof and ground below. We had managed to lose the Target which meant two things; reprimands from the Leader and another mission to find and kill the Target—without failure. By the time we returned to the base men had already worked on cleaning evidence of our existence from the mission area. That didn't save us from both getting ten lashes with the Whip before being locked up in our quarters without food and water for the rest of the day until the next mission. That only left my mind to replay the name 'Ace' over and over again on repeat, as if I should know it by heart the next time I was let out of my quarters.


	10. Nine

**I just have to say how happy I am to see so many people seem to enjoy this story! Again I thank everyone who has reviewed, followed and favorited this story, you guys are the best! Also a quick warning for this chapter—it deals with the subject of a possible RAPE so if anyone doesn't want to read that part I'll put an exclamation mark (!) where that part begins and ends.**

Chapter Nine~

When the door to my quarters opened again I had done thirty pushups, taken a shower, sharpened my daggers and had braided my hair anticipating the next mission. Rumlow stood in the doorway though he said nothing as he allowed me to exit the room. I followed him to the Leaders office where Soldier was already inside. His back was ridged and stiff making me know he hadn't gotten any sleep or even a catnap. With arms crossed over his chest, he didn't even turn to look at me as I entered the office. The Leader was leaning against his desk when I entered and gave me a look that I knew all too well, he was beyond disappointed in us.

"We've been able to gain Intel recently that the Target has moved locations, more than once I should add. In the file you'll both find the address and meet-up location for pick up." at that I took the file from a silent brooding Soldier and opening it found both the street address, layout of the apartment and picture of our pick up location.

"Neither of you can fail again, there is too much hanging on this mission that would either destroy HYDRA's noble work, or help HYDRA create the world it deserves." the Leader said before looking at both of us then waved his hand allowing us to leave. After leaving the office, Soldier and I headed straight to our Locker Storage where inside we got whatever was necessary for our mission. As I checked my gear one last time I notice Soldier was watching me.

"What?" I snapped making the corner of his lips turn in that hardly there smile before it vanished for him to say,

"You've remembered something." swallowing hard, I looked away from him though knew he would wait as long as it took for me to tell him. Finally turning to face him fully, I said shortly,

"There was a snowy mountain range, a speeding train zooming along a track, someone shouting a name before we were both falling."

"We?" he asked in a sharp tone making me flinch just enough for him to notice as I nodded and told him,

"You where there too, in the memory." looking down at his combat boots so that I wouldn't have to look him in the eye, I watched them move closer towards me before he was standing just in front of me. With his metal hand Soldier picked up my braid and let it run through his metal fingers as if seeing it for the first time.

"You're not allowed to remember," he said in a gruff voice before I just managed to catch,

"I won't lose you." making me look up into his bitter blue eyes just as a knock sounded on the door, or more like a banging thud. Letting my braid fall from his metal hand, Soldier turned towards the door allowing me a moment to collect myself. Seeing the door open, I followed the only person I've known all my time in HYDRA. Someone I would follow to the gates of Hell and back again. Storming towards the parking lot, the two of us got into a black van with Rollins and a driver waiting for us. As we left the base I discovered it was nighttime and watched the lights of the city pass by, trying to forget what Soldier had said. The drive seemed longer than normal as we sat in silence so that upon seeing the drop location up ahead I put on my half mask. Exiting the van behind the office building that was right across the street from the Target's marked location, Soldier and I made our way inside. On silent feet stalking up to the roof the two of us met with no problems, the whole building was empty. Upon reaching the rooftop's edge the two of us set up our gear; Soldier with his sniper rifle and I would be his scout for the Target. Lying flat on my stomach just brushing against the edge of the roof, I kept glancing at Soldier before he finally said,

"Am I that interesting that you're not paying attention to the mission?" mock laughing as if he'd told a terrible joke, I looked away and back through the binoculars. I watched the figure belonging to the Target sitting in a chair then noticed another figure entering the apartment.

"Second figure inside, unable to make out details yet it seems to be a man." I told Soldier who laid on his stomach next to me, our arms touching as he aimed through the scope of the sniper rifle. Narrowing my eyes through the binoculars, I waited for the Target to stand before saying,

"Target ten degrees to the right and three degrees up higher, take your shot whenever ready." only I didn't even have to say that because as soon as I gave Soldier the information he was already shooting, several times for good measure to remove the Target. By the time he stopped firing I was sure the second figure in the apartment would have figured out we were across the street. And apparently I was right because Soldier hauled me to my feet saying,

"Run." which I did without any hesitation, just steps behind him as we sprinted across the office buildings rooftop. Once in a while I'd glance down to see the second figure from the apartment was actually chasing us! Coming to the edge of the office buildings rooftop, Soldier jumped first crouching into a roll followed by me doing a front flip allowing me more room to land on the next building's roof. However it seemed I did the wrong move because behind me I heard glass breaking and running footsteps right behind me. Looking to Soldier for help, he grabbed my arm and pulled me forwards before pushing me behind him. At the sound of something 'whizzing' towards us, I turned in time with Soldier as he grabbed something with his metal hand. Something oddly familiar, a red and blue rounded object with a white star in the center. As Soldier threw it back at the person who had first tossed it, he didn't wait a second before taking my waist in his normal arm. Together we leapt off the rooftop with Soldier using his metal hand to grab onto the fire escape below us. Clinging tightly to the wall where the fire escape was bolted to the building, we both waited two minutes before starting down the ladder. Reaching the ground yet staying in the shadow of an alleyway, I was stopped by Soldier who turned me to see him. His black eye paint was smudged around his bitter blue eyes as he checked me over for injuries. I let him knowing he'd need to prove to himself that I was fine, he'd done this before in that overly protective way.

"I'm fine." I hushed out as his metal hand took my chin to examine my face as he said,

"Are you?" it was a question that had so much more meaning behind it than I was expecting as I met his gaze again saying,

"That was the man from my dream, I—I think I knew him." his eyes narrowed at that as he shoved me into the brick wall. Letting out a hiss, he put his metal hand on my shoulder as he snapped at me in a deadly whisper,

"You're not allowed to know anything other than HYDRA!" only somehow I thought he was talking more to himself than to me, which worried me. Trying to shove him off me, he pressed my shoulder harder into the brick wall removing his face mask.

"Don't make them put you back in the Chair Shadow." he snapped making me say right on back to him,

"Why now are you protecting me?!"

"I always have been!" he hissed making me scoff and demand,

"Why now? Why now are you suddenly so hell bent to protect me?!" I never got an answer, instead I found his lips on mine; demanding, needy, borderline begging. He seemed almost desperate to get a responds out of me which I gave him—a hard slap on the cheek. Pulling back from the kiss allowed me to be able to shove him right off of me, glaring at him as I panted for air. I watched an expression cross his face; something so horribly aching that I almost felt sorry—almost. Then just as quickly as it came the emotion in his face vanished and he was storming away from me. By the time we returned to the base, gave our report to the Leader and told him about the second figure in the apartment I had already bottled up any and all feeling about that kiss. Now as I walk to my quarters I sense someone behind me and roll my eyes.

 **(!)** "You can't sneak up on me Soldier." I said turning to find not Soldier—but the last person I wanted to see—Rumlow. However I had no time to tell him off when he came at me with a syringe and needle which I deflected by kicking him in the knee. As he went down I bolted for my quarters yet he grabbed my braid and yanked it back hard. A scream tore through my throat before he jammed the needle into my neck making me feel dizzy instantly. As my body grew limp, Rumlow shoved me into my quarters so that I tumbled onto the ground. Watching him kick the door shut, he leered over me saying,

"Not so tough now are we? Where's your knight in black armor to save you now?" only able to push myself up to glare at him, Rumlow grabbed my arm and literally tossed me onto my bed. Before he could make another move though the door behind him was kicked open. Turning my head towards it, I watched Soldier storm in and grab Rumlow by his throat. Slamming him into the wall with enough force to make a dent, Soldier pressed on his windpipe with his metal hand as he snarled,

"Do that again and I'll make sure no one can call you a man, because you'll be mutilated." then tossing him out into the hallway, Soldier left to do something to cause Rumlow to scream out. **(!)** Coming back into my quarters, Soldier lifted me up into his arms with the exact opposite amount of force used to strangle Rumlow. Watching his quarters appear, Soldier opened the door then shut it with his foot as he laid me on his bed. Whimpering slightly, I felt his metal fingers trace the slightly raised skin where the needle had been jabbed into the skin.

"I'm sorry." I told him softly closing my eyes and letting my head fall to one side. Feeling lips on my forehead, I heard shuffling and then something hit the side of the bed. Confused, I opened my eyes to see Soldier sitting on the floor with a handgun in one hand. His back was towards me as he faced the door, waiting for someone to try and dare enter.

"I still trust you, I'll always trust you." I murmured before closing my eyes again feeling sleep tugging at my mind. Last thing I heard was him mumbling something, though I couldn't hear what it was.


	11. Ten

Chapter Ten~ **St. James Memorial General Hospital**

Steve Rogers had had just enough lies and no true facts or information by the time he entered the same hospital Director Fury had died in. Intending to get back the flash drive Fury had given him, Steve instead came face to face with an empty row inside the snack machine. Then he watched a familiar face popping gum appear before he forced Natasha Romanoff into an empty room. Throwing off the hood on his head and pinning her to a wall he demanded,

"Where is it?"

"Safe." Natasha told him simply only he didn't believe that, in fact he hardly believed anything anymore.

"Where did you get it?" Natasha snapped making Steve say simply,

"Why would I tell you?" yet it seemed she knew more than he did because she asked,

"Fury gave it to you, why?" only when Steve asked her what on earth was on it that made it so damn important she told him she didn't know. Again not believing anything, Steve told her,

"Stop lying!"

"I only act like I know everything Rogers."

"But you knew Fury hired the pirates didn't you?" he asked already having a strong feeling that he was right about that. Her facial expression said enough as she said to him,

"Well it makes sense, the ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in and so do you." but by now he'd had enough with her lies and shaking her arms Steve told her,

"I'm not going to ask you again!"

"I know who killed Fury." that stopped him as Steve pulled back enough for her to explain what she meant.

"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years. His partner however is a whole different matter."

"So he's a ghost story." Steve said not taking her words for any meaning as Natasha continued,

"Five years ago, I was escorting a nuclear engineer outside of Iran. Somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control and went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out. But the Winter Soldier was there, I was covering my engineer but he shot him—straight through me," at that she pulled up part of her shirt near her hip revealing a nasty looking scar as she kept going,

"Soviet slug, no riffling, bye-bye bikinis. What made the scene more bizarre was that his partner was there, she was the one to stop him from killing me. If she hadn't been there I'd probably be dead which doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling." raising an eyebrow, Steve frowned about to ask her who this person was when she cut him off.

"Whenever the Winter Soldier appears she's right at his side, almost like a shadow able to not only keep up with him but vanish without a trace just like he can. Hardly anyone can agree on who she might be since she's as deadly if not more so than Winter Soldier. The only thing anyone can agree on is her name—Pale Shadow. She's known for her white hair in a braid though her trade mark isn't her hair color, it's the fact she never leaves anyone alive. The fact she didn't let the Winter Soldier kills me goes against everything she's known for. I've heard of her being responsible for blowing up an entire building to make sure no one could talk against her."

"White hair? Like pale blonde almost white?" Steve asked her causing Natasha to stare at him in shock as he explained,

"She was there, when I was chasing after the shooter who killed Fury. You are right about her being in the shadow of the Winter Soldier but you're wrong about something else."

"What the hell could that be?" Natasha snapped as Steve stepped back a bit to tell her something that had been weighing on his mind since seeing the two up on the rooftop. Something that was nagging at him since the day at the museum.

"I saw her before that night, she was at the Captain America Exhibit,"

"A fan of yours then?" Natasha teased only Steve shook her arms again saying in an annoyed tone,

"Will you stop that? She wasn't a 'fan' of mine—she knew who I was." raising an eyebrow at him as if to say 'that's it?' Natasha frowned as Steve stepped back to run a hand over his face. Seeing the exhaustion in his eyes and worry lines, Natasha let him continue,

"She knew who I was because I think I know her." mouth dropping open, Natasha listened as he told her about the only other person in his past who meant more to him than himself.

"Her name was Hannah Cohen, she grew up with me and Bucky even following me to war during WW2. She was there when I became the Super Soldier everyone knows now, she was there when I gathered the Howling Commandos and she fell off the same train Bucky did in 1945."

"That's impossible she would be dead by now and anyway if you're right then what the hell is she doing killing Fury? What's more, how did she even survive that fall and almost a century of time?" Natasha wondered making Steve just shrug as he kept replaying that scene in his mind; of seeing Hannah's face staring at him in shock before she vanished behind a bus.

"Going after the two of them is a dead end, I know I've tried." Natasha said getting back to the point only pulling out the flash drive that Fury had given him, she smirked as Steve took the flash drive from her, then looked at it then back at her said,

"Then let's see what the both ghosts want."


	12. Eleven

**Long chapter is long! Dramatic chapter is dramatic! Let the games begin!**

Chapter Eleven~

Waking up seemed nearly impossible, yet I managed to do it anyway as my eyes opened to find myself in a Recovery Room. The same sort of room where after just coming out of cryo Soldier and I would be in. Looking around I noticed a doctor scribbling down on a chart and snapped,

"What happened?" upon hearing my voice the plump balding man turned to see me with a fearful expression as he told me,

"Soldier brought you in saying you'd been drugged. We ran some tests and found levels of the basic compound known as 'Flunitrazepam'. Soldier said it had been Rumlow who did it—" hearing enough I sat up despite my swimming brain and pushed myself to stand off the bed. The doctor came over to help but I waved him off saying,

"I'm fine damn it! I'm going to slice that man's head off his shoulders!"

"Probably not Shadow, I was told to alert the Leader when you woke up." the doctor said but one look at my furious expression had him backing up. Panting slightly, I held onto the side of the bed saying to him,

"You don't have to do that yet, after all, I'm still out cold." it wasn't a request, it was a demand that he answered and moved back to continue scribbling down notes. Staying on my feet but still holding the bed, I suddenly thought of something so asked,

"What day is it?" turning to see me, the doctor checked the computer before telling me simply,

"Eighteen hours before the Main Event." frowning at that, I turned when I noticed a figure stalking into the room—Soldier. His hard expression didn't change though I saw a flash of emotion in his eyes as he came over towards me. Looking me over, he asked the doctor not bothering to look at the man,

"When can she return to action?"

"In four to five hours I'd have to say." so with that answer Soldier took my arm and began helping me out of the room. Putting a finger to my lips to keep the man silent, the two of us walked down the hallway towards my quarters. Entering the room though I noticed a new door had been added, Soldier helped me sit on my bed and got me a glass of water.

"Rumlow he—I should have known it was coming." I muttered as I set the glass of water down but Soldier was there to take my shoulders and say,

"Don't you dare blame yourself Shadow." his voice was gruff as he talked making me look up at him. There it was again, that flicker of emotion in his eyes as I slowly stood up from the bed. Raising a hand to his face, I ran my hand through his hair with an ache in my chest that I couldn't explain.

"The day before killing a Target, I went off the grid from my mission," I began continuing to let my fingers run through his hair. His eyes were locked on my face though I wasn't looking at him while saying,

"In the file was a picture of someone who I—I don't know but I went to the Air and Space Museum. I felt like I just had to go, like something was telling me it was the right thing to do. Nothing made sense though until I saw my face on a memorial wall." looking at him now to see his raised eyebrow of confusion I blew out a breath while saying,

"It was etched into glass, a tribute and worst of all they said I had—died. They had my picture on a memorial wall because I was dead, I had died in 1945."

"That's impossible." he told me sharply but I shook my head telling him,

"That's what it said, and then there was the man from the picture—the same man from the rooftop even. He was there and he was chasing me, trying to catch up to me before saying a name—Hannah. And it was as if something snapped into place, as if at that moment everything made sense again. Problem is, I don't know who he is." taking my chin gently in his flesh hand, Soldier glared at me though I knew it wasn't meant for me. It was for the fact I was remembering what I shouldn't be allowed to.

"You can't do this Shadow."

"Why not? Why shouldn't I try to find out the truth?" I asked him feeling him put his metal hand on my hip as he told me,

"Because I'll lose you." this time when Soldier kissed me I let him, I didn't fight back but instead gave him the same amount of desperate need. Putting the hand from my chin behind me head, he let go of my lips when we both had to breathe. Putting his face in the crook of my neck, he trailed a path of kisses up to my ear before hushing out,

"I can't lose you."

"You won't, I'm right here and I'm not letting you out of my sights again." I told him so that he pulled back to look at me, almost as if I had said something wrong. Just giving him a small smile, I pulled back enough to gain some breathing room. Upon hearing a knock on the door Soldier pulled back also mouthing to me 'lie down' which I did and closed my eyes. Hearing the door open and Rollin's voice asking what was going on, Soldier lied smoothly saying,

"Checking up on her."

"You two have a mission so wake her up." the man said so pretending to get up when Soldier shook my shoulder, the two of us soon arrived at the Locker Storage. Gearing up by changing into our gear, we shared an understanding now—no matter what happened we weren't going to let anything happen to one another. This wasn't just a partnership, the fact that we had trained and fought and killed side by side, it was built on something much stronger than that. This time the two of us got into a Hummer as we were told we'd be going after two Targets who had Jasper Stillwell in their custody. He was a weak link and needed to be removed along with the two Targets. Getting on the highway, I adjusted my face mask as I glanced over at Soldier. He was getting ready to make the first move, so that when the agent said,

"Target in sight." he got out of the Hummer and climbed onto the roof of it. Meanwhile I waited my turn to exit, watching as he leapt on top of the car in front of us. With his metal arm he grabbed who I guessed was Jasper Stillwell in the back of the car. Tossing him into an oncoming truck, I smirked hearing the sickening 'Thud' since I had always hated that man. From the roof of the car, Soldier began shooting through the metal into the car itself. However I watched the car skid to a stop and not waiting for my turn to exit, jumped out of the Hummer and leapt onto the roof of the Targets car. As Soldier went flying onto the highway, I did a backflip off the Targets car to land just a few feet from where Soldier had stopped. Thanks to his metal arm, he left indents in the highway itself as the two of us stood to our full height. Glaring through my goggles at the Targets car, we watched the Hummer slam into the back of it causing it to start skidding towards us. Soldier just jumped and flew onto the cars roof once more, leaving me to grab onto the car's hood. Standing crouching on it to glare at the people inside, I noticed the man from my nightmares staring at me. However before he could make a move I was already on the roof where Soldier had managed to grab the wheel of the car before ripping it out through the windshield. With wheels squealing due to the breaks, gunfire had both Soldier and I leaping off the car and onto the Hummer's front hood. Soldier held onto one of my waist as we continued forward, pushing the Target's car now with no way of steering. With one good hard ram into the cars back bummer we sent it towards the median before it began to flip over onto itself. As the main two Targets skidded to a stop I noticed a third person and prepared myself for when the Hummer would stop. Blocking the way, the two of us leapt off the hood with Soldier being handed a rocket launcher and I was handed an M16 assault rifle. As Soldier fired at the main Target, I took aim and began shooting at the redheaded woman since the main Target had gone flying off the highway. While the others kept firing I glanced at Soldier and we shared a thought, so that I moved to eliminate the third person from the car. With Soldier firing another explosive at the redhead, I kept my gun trained on the third person who was hiding behind a silver car. Watching the second explosive all but destroy the car the redhead was behind, I smirked under my mask. As she kept running on the other side of the highway, Soldier took aim and after a minute fired at a silver convertible where the redhead had run behind. The car exploded into a fireball as she had to have gone flying off the highway also. Having run out of ammo, I was handed another gun as the first was getting reloaded. As Soldier and I stalked towards the side of the highway we waited for the redhead to appear. When she didn't I frowned and took a step back to watch Soldier take a shot to the goggles.

"Soldier!" I hissed ducking before him as he removed his now cracked goggles, his bitter blue eyes void of everything but determination. Getting back up, he kept me behind him as the man fired endlessly at the redhead. Firing with the second gun I had been handed at the redheaded woman, I turned to see Soldier leaping off the highway for the ground.

"Show off." I watched the redhead sprint down the street as I took a running leap off the highway and then landed on a trucks roof. Slowly standing up to make sure I could still move from the impact, I got off the truck and started stalking down the street to follow Soldier. Hearing an endless wave of gunfire behind me, I continued to stalk down the street ignoring everything but Soldier's figure a few paces ahead of me. I watched him send a police car into a fiery Hell as he continued stalking like the deadly assassin he is. Only upon seeing him fighting with the redhead literally on his shoulders, I got out a dagger from my belt and tossed it at the redhead. Managing to get her in the shoulder, she went flying into the side of a car thanks to Soldier throwing her off. Moving over towards Soldier I noticed the redhead grabbing her shoulder and starting to run so that I turned to him saying,

"Find the blonde Target, I got her." just nodding at me, he took off in a different direction as I chased after her, aiming and then firing a bullet right into the same should I had tossed the dagger into. As she fell hard from the gunshot, she crawled behind a car for cover making me smirk. Going around the onto the other side of the car she was hiding behind, I jumped on top of a car aiming to take her out when a flash of a figure appeared in my line of vision. I had only seconds to slide off the car and for Soldier to come barreling in and slamming his metal fist into a circular shield. Now on the ground again, I was forced to watch the two of them start to fight knowing Solder could take blow for blow with the Target. Meanwhile I would concentrate on the redhead, only upon going to where she had been found her missing. Snarling under my mask, I followed the sound of gunfire but my instinct kicked in. Someone was trying to sneak up behind me, and so turning on my heel in an instant began firing at the redhead who had taken cover behind a large truck. Her aim was horrible from the fact she had been shot in apparently her good shoulder, meaning I didn't have to worry about getting hit. When I ran out of bullets in my gun I got out a 9mm handgun and shot straight through the trucks windshield aiming for her head. She must have ducked because it didn't hit her but it gave me time to find Soldier. Seeing the two up ahead I took a running charge at the blonde and with my elbow slammed it into his back, right between his shoulders. Letting out a cry, the man fell to one knee as I roundhouse kicked him in the right shoulder making him drop his shield. Somehow though he managed to grab my ankle and twist it forcing me to do a back flip which allowed my other leg to kick him in the face. As I went tumbling backwards I felt someone take ahold of my arm. Seeing it was Soldier without his mask, I turned back to see the blonde and panting realized my mask was missing now too.

"Bucky? Ace?" the man said in disbelief making Soldier ask,

"Who the hell are they?" yet just before Soldier could shoot the blonde something made him go flying sideways. Soldier managed to push me away from getting any of the impact as I sat up to see the third person from the car now had a backpack on with wings. He must have been the one to smack into Soldier as I ran to his side leaving the blonde to just stare at us. Glaring at the blonde as Soldier held my lower arm, he pulled me away as an explosive came flying towards us. In a puff of smoke we vanished—disappearing into broad daylight as we heard sirens surrounding the area. Rumlow the bastard and Rollin's where instructed to take the Targets in if possible so they were probably the ones on the way. Watching from an alleyway just mere feet from the Targets being taken in by Rumlow and Rollin's, I was oblivious to the fact Soldier was holding me to his chest with his metal arm around my waist. As I watched the Targets be forced into an armored car, I pulled away saying,

"I know him, I know that man." running a hand over the back of my neck in my head thoughts where running at the speed of light.

"I know him, how do I know him?" I continued to mutter as Soldier came forward to take my shoulder in his hand.

"How do I know him?" I asked looking up at Soldier who merely frowned before taking me further into the alleyway. It was a while after that that the two of us found ourselves back at base, Soldier leading me to my quarters. Once inside my quarters I took a shower and changed into civilian clothing before watching the door open. In walked Soldier looking ragged as he tossed a backpack at me. Giving him a look he told me,

"They're going to wipe you Shadow, probably wipe both of us." eyes widening at his words, I realized that that meant he remembered something too. Something about the blonde Target!

"Get out of here as fast as you can, leave and forget me—just forget me."


	13. Twelve

**I couldn't resist posting another chapter so soon. I felt it wasn't fair to keep all of you waiting to see what would happen ;)**

Chapter Twelve~

I had to wait until I was sure everyone was out of the area before sneaking out of my quarters. Inside the backpack Soldier had given to me was a change of civilian clothes and a handgun with ammo just in case. With the backpack on and wearing the civilian clothes of dark blue jeans and a dark gray baggy sweatshirt over a white t-shirt, my hair was pulled into a tight ponytail around the side of my head. On silent feet I made my way towards the exit, but not before stopping outside the one room I loathed besides the cryo room; the one with the Chair. The thing that forced us to forget, the thing that would make Soldier forget who I was. Make him forget he ever knew me, that we ever met even much to the delight of Rumlow no doubt. Upon opening a peephole Soldier had created ages ago that was right behind the Chair's room, I watched as inside they began to prep him for the Chair. The Leader, Rumlow and Rollin's where there as Soldier was given the mouth guard in order not to bite off his tongue. As the straps snapped in place, his eyes somehow found mine. In them I saw the one emotion I knew now, the emotion that I hadn't been able to understand before. As the machine geared up and the electricity began frying his brain, his screams echoed throughout the room as I closed my eyes tightly. Turning around, I forced myself to leave while still able to hear his endless screaming in my ears. After snapping the neck of a few guards, I was finally out on the street inhaling fresh air. Mingling with the crowds on the sidewalk, I blended in as best I could with my hood covering my hair. I had to find out where the blonde Target had gone, I had to find him—I had to if I was to save Soldier. I walked with no real direction until I thought of something. Getting on a bus, I took it to the National Mall where the Smithsonian was located. When the bus reached its stop I made my way towards the Air and Space Museum where I somehow knew it'd find what I was looking for. A quick trip around back and then getting past the guard by the back door thanks to a swift roundhouse kick, I was able to reach the Captain America Exhibit. Standing in front of the memorial wall with my face etched into the glass, I ran a hand over the name 'Ace Cohen' before sensing someone nearby. Turning, I watched a figure move through the shadows though not as gracefully as they could have. Smirking, I followed them to the display where the outfits where underneath the Howling Commandos portraits.

"Hey Punk." I called watching the figure stiffen before turning around to face me, the man who had been haunting my mind glaring at me. Not even blinking, I looked past him to the portraits on the wall saying,

"I don't remember them, wish I did but I don't. It feels like trying to see through a dark endless void for something I don't know." then looking back at him I gave a tiny shrug continuing,

"First time I was here was off the grid. I had finished a mission when I noticed the banners for the exhibit. Something felt—wrong—about seeing all of this. The worst was seeing my own damn face etched in glass, a tribute to someone who doesn't exist anymore."

"Why are you here?" the man asked in a cold tone which I expected as I gave him another shrug.

"I remember only snippets of life before HYDRA; snowy mountains, a train and someone screaming a name—my name. My name was Hannah—wasn't it?" slowly his expression turned soft as he nodded making me look down at the floor.

"It feels wrong knowing that, seeing my face and a whole dedication to a person I don't know. Yet I knew you once didn't I?" I wondered making him nod slowly as he told me,

"We were friends, best friends even Hannah. You were with me all the way through the War, fought with me and Bucky before—" yet he couldn't bring himself to finish as I gave him a weak smile of understanding.

"I'm not that person anymore Punk, and I don't want to be Pale Shadow either. That life was a lie forced down my throat and that I was forced to swallow. I doubt I'll ever be that person you knew again—but I don't want to just sit on my ass knowing what HYDRA wants to do."

"You know what they're up to?" he asked taking a step over towards me while I nodded saying to him,

"Now isn't the best time though, we need to get out of here fast."

"We?" he wondered raising an eyebrow as I nodded meeting him halfway and telling him,

"I'll do anything to fix the Hell I caused Punk, even if it means having to die all over again. I have to—for Soldier." frowning down at me, the blonde asked me softly,

"What happened to him?" shaking my head, I looked up at him with misty eyes saying in a whisper,

"They made him forget everything. They made him forget me." somehow he understood what that meant, at least could understand from my expression that is. Seeing him walk away I looked back down at my feet wondering if he was going to trust me or not. However when I saw something land at my feet I picked it up confused. There was a uniform; all navy blue pants and shirt combo, on either side of each the labels where wings while right under that on the right side was a crimson star where inside was a golden 'A'. Glancing up at him, the man had also removed another outfit that belonged to Captain America and was smiling at me, a sad smile.

"Time to gear up Ace." he told me causing me to nod as we both left the building in step with one another. And someone that felt right—be next to him again—as if I was meant to be there. Only Soldier wasn't with me, and that made my heart ache. Reaching a dark blue car that we both got into, the blonde who told me his name was Steve Rogers, or just Steve, and explained the plan. I listened with rapped attention to every detail and every word he said. Upon reaching our destination I had everything he had told me memorized. Exiting the car by what appeared to be a water dam, he led me inside only to be greeted by two people holding guns aimed at me. What else should I expect?

"What is she doing here?" the other man from the bridge snapped as Steve took a step in front of me saying,

"Her name is Hannah 'Ace' Cohen, and she's here to help."

"Yeah no, I don't believe that." the man said taking a few steps towards us as I rolled my eyes saying to him,

"Believe it or not, we only have a few hours before liftoff." at this the woman next to him who I'd never seen before narrowed her eyes as she told me,

"Why should we trust you?"

"Because I do Maria, so that will just have to be good enough for you two." Steve told them in a hard tone making the two share a glance before lowering their guns. Steve stormed past them holding my arm telling me,

"Go change we have to leave soon."

"Where's the redhead? I want to apologize." I told him making Steve turn to me and raise an eyebrow in confusion. Even so, he led me to a room where I spotted her going over some files so that upon noticing me she jumped up. Seeing her shoulder bandaged under her jacket I frowned saying carefully,

"I want to apologize for that, even if you don't believe me. I was just following orders—not following what was right or wrong. I—I doubt I even know the difference anymore to be honest." seeing her looking me over then turning to see Steve, the woman just told me,

"I'll live." knowing I wouldn't get anything more than that, I was led to a room I could change into the uniform from long, long ago in some far forgotten time. Once ready I met with Steve in his original Captain America uniform, the man who begrudgingly introduced himself as Sam Wilson wearing his winged jetpack and Maria Hill in her SHIELD uniform. Getting into one car with Steve driving, it was Maria who said,

"Why are you doing this? Helping us when you're on the other team."

"Because I don't want to help the people who destroyed my life, Soldiers life, any life the two of us would have had to be considered 'normal'. They took that chance away from us, every damn day of the past century. If I have to die to make up for that fact, I'll be happy knowing I did." my words made her and Sam share a look of unreadable emotion as the car finally stopped. Exiting it, we walked in line with me right next to Steve looking over the Potomac River and over towards the SHIELD headquarters. Getting in was easier than expected; we only used deadly force when needed but not enough so to waste ammo. By the time we reached the communication center of the base the four of us where ready for a showdown. I stood by Steve as he begins speaking into the microphone that would literally allow everyone in the building to hear him.

"Attention all SHIELD agents, this is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the past few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time for you to know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexandre Pierce is their leader, the STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want, absolute control. They shot Nick Fury, and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today HYDRA can kill anyone who stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, the price of freedom is high, it always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not." his speech meant much more to me than anything I've ever heard. I had been ordered to not only hunt Steve Rogers down but kill him, I knew Pierce as the Leader of HYDRA, I had been there when Nick Fury was shot and I knew about the Main Event. The price of freedom was high—I had paid it before and I was willing to do it again. Only this time I'd be doing it alongside Steve Rogers, the friend I never knew I had but had known once. And I was willing to do it for Solider, the man I loved.


	14. Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen~

Upon discovering that they had started the launch, Steve along with Sam and myself left to hop onto one of the Helicarriers. Maria would stay behind and give us the orders and to help us with any information she could get. Running at top speed, Sam asked aloud,

"Hey how do we tell the good guys from the bad guys?"

"If they're trying to kill you they're bad, no offense." I said to him watching him smirk at me before he took off with his winged jetpack. Steve took my upper arm as we both fell to land on the deck of the first Hellicarrier. Landing in a ducking roll, Steve let go of my arm so that once standing I began firing back at anyone shooting at him. I was his cover, taking deadly aim at the gunmen and putting a bullet through their head. My rage for HYDRA I was now channeling to destroy whoever was a part of them. Anyone who tried to stop us would die at my hands. For this moment only I allowed myself to become the Pale Shadow again, only this time my shadow was to protect Captain America. Taking cover behind a large amount of crates, I watched Steve toss an explosive to make several men go flying into the air.

"This way!" he shouted waving me towards the bay door that would take us inside the ship itself.

"Hey Cap, I found those bad guys you were talking about!" Sam aka Falcon called into our coms as I told him,

"You can't die yet, we have to finish the job."

"Who said anything about dying?" he snapped back as I looked up upon seeing large guns trying to shoot him down, him weaving through the explosion like a bird. Rolling my eyes, I kept cover on Steve while we raced for the dock bay door to get inside. Once inside I changed ammo cartridges as we raced for the Hub of the Hellicarrier where we'd have to switch out one of the targeting chips. By the time we got inside and changed the chip I said,

"Alpha locked." so that we heard Maria asking where Sam was only he replied,

"Had to take a detour!"

"For what coffee?" I teased making him say back,

"Sounds good about now!" so that glancing over at Steve who just shook his head, we moved to the top deck again where we would have Sam pick us up. At least that was the plan anyway. Hearing Sam say that Bravo was locked and loaded, we ran through the Hellicarrier hearing Maria say,

"Charlie carrier is 45 degrees off the port bow. Six minutes."

"Hey Sam gonna need a ride!" Steve called making the winged flying man ask,

"What about Blondie?" rolling my eyes at that I followed Steve towards the side of the top deck of the Alpha Hellicarrier.

"I'll be fine! Pick up Steve!" I shouted as we both jumped off the side of the top deck, Steve falling at a faster speed than me with his weight. Sam came swooping in and grabbed Steve by his arm, pulling him with all his force upwards into the sky. Meanwhile I kicked on the jetpack I had in my backpack, conveniently taken from a SHIELD locker room, conveniently 'borrowed'. With both engines blasting, I shot upwards into the sky right behind the two men as Sam dropped Steve off onto the Charlie Hellicarrier. Watching him land, I steered the jetpack over and on top of the top deck before noticing a jet that had landed. Frowning, I directed the jetpack over the jet and landed on top as I spotted a glint of metal. Taking off the backpack, I leapt onto the top deck and ran to stop the last person I wanted to fight. Seeing Solider made my heart ache, but I had to stick to the mission as he shoved Steve right off the top deck. Watching him fall off, Sam tried to grab him yet Soldier took one hold of a wing and forced him backwards. As Sam began shooting at Soldier I went around a cargo hold to fire at Soldier as he took cover. However he was too focused on Sam who tried to fly off, only to have his wing grabbed by a metal cord and then pulled onto the deck hard. Ripping a wing off the jetpack, Soldier then kicked the man right off the side of the top deck. Knowing both men had fallen; Sam probably going to have to make an emergency landing, Steve nowhere in sight, I raced to the Hub of the Hellicarrier. Hoping Steve would meet me there, I heard gunfire behind me and had to slam the top deck door shut for cover. Now I knew Soldier had spotted me, and was now after me.

"Steve where the hell are you?!" I snapped taking a moment to breathe as he replied,

"I'm still on the Hellicarrier, meet you at the Hub! But where's Sam?"

"I'm grounded and the suits down, sorry guys." Sam told us as I maneuvered through the inside of the Hellicarrier towards the Hub. As I ran Maria told us that Rumlow was on his way to the Council with Sam agreeing to take him out.

"Sam, don't hesitate to kill that son of a bitch, he deserves it more than you know." I told him as he chuckled saying,

"That's fine with me Blondie." up ahead I spotted Steve who taking my arm in his checked me over. Slapping his cheek teasingly, the two of us reached the Hub—where standing before us was the Winter Soldier. Before we had left for the SHIELD headquarters, Steve had told me in all honestly,

"If he doesn't remember me or you, we'll have to do whatever is needed to get the job done. You know that right? We can't let anything get in the way."

"I won't, no matter what I know that I can't." I had told him with a sad bitter smile on my face, so that now seeing Soldier standing before me with literally no expression or even light in his eyes made my mind harden, and my heart break.

"People are going to die Buck. I can't let that happen." Steve said not getting a reply as he tried again,

"Please don't make me do this." hearing the emotion in Steve's voice, the raw pain and regret, I took a step around Steve telling Soldier,

"I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to." however again there was no reply so finally Steve threw his shield and the fight began. Having given me the chip to switch out, Steve focused on keeping the attention on him while I would change the chip out. Darting around the two figures engaged in battle, I went to the Hub and began punching in the code. Hearing something 'whizzing' towards me from behind, I ducked and spun to one side seeing a dagger being thrown where my head had been. Only the dagger had once belonged to me. Noticing the blood on Steve's side, I removed the dagger embedded in the metal of the Hub and threw it back at Soldier. Of course he easily dodged the object as Steve took that moment to kick him backwards towards the railing. As the Hub where the tracking chips where lowered, I grabbed the one we'd need to switch out before my instincts kicked in. Ducking low, I swiped my leg to knock Soldier off his feet yet he used that moment to fly at Steve. Seeing the Steve having to turn around, Soldier forced the two off and over the side of the railing. Running over to see if they were ok, I noticed somehow in the chaos the chip had fallen along with them.

"Shit." I muttered leaping over the railing and onto the metal ledge below me. Just barely dodging a kick aimed for my head by Soldier, I ran for the chip only to have my ankle grabbed and pulled backwards. Turning around to try and kick Soldier off me, he used the dagger I had thrown at him to jam it into my thigh making me cry out. Seeing that Steve had used that moment to slide down onto the glass below the metal ledge, I knew he had to be going for the chip. With that in mind I forced myself to stand ignoring the pain in my thigh. Glaring at Soldier, I got out my own set of daggers seeing as if I had lost my gun. We began a deadly dance of swipe, block, spin and dodge with me never letting up the pressure even if I had been stabbed. Somehow Soldier managed to kick me in the stomach and send me flying in the machine behind the two of us. As he slid down to the glass below, I grunted and took a moment to tear off a part of my uniform. Wrapping it around my stab wound, I stood back up and jumped onto the glass seeing the two men still going at one another. Spying Steve's shield lying near me, I grabbed it and threw it at the back of Soldier who had stabbed Steve in the shoulder. As Soldier fell onto his knees from the impact of the shield hitting his back, he tried to grab the chip. However Steve forced him into a choke hold shout at me,

"Get the chip!" seeing Soldier limp on the ground, I had to push that thought aside as I grabbed the chip and ran to get back up top. Hearing that we only had a minute, I swung myself with both hands back up onto the metal ledge. With the chip in my pocket, I started to climb the metal work only to hear a gunshot behind me. Turning around, I saw that somehow Steve had managed to block the bullet aimed for me with his body. Forcing myself to continue climbing, I heard two more gunshots and glancing down notice Steve holding his side.

"Thirty seconds Cap!" Maria shouted in my ear just as I rolled onto the top deck to put the chip into its case. Fumbling a bit, I heard two more gunshots and felt a stinging pain in my shoulder causing me to drop the chip. Grabbing my shoulder, I tried in vain to pick the chip up only it was out of my reach. Seeing a hand pick it up, I saw Steve appear and running past me moved to put it into the Hub. Only with one more gunshot watched Steve crumble onto his legs, having been shot in the stomach.

"Steve!" I shouted standing up and limping over to him took the chip from his hand before saying,

"Charlie Locked." hearing Maria saying that we had to get out, I shared a look with Steve as he told her,

"Fire now, just do it! Do it now!"


	15. Short Quick Updated Chapter

**Very quick update to one and all; I have two more chapters to post yet I wanted your opinions. I was pondering with the thought of having Ace follow Steve into Age of Ultron. Otherwise I'd have to wait until Civil War—and that movie is going to make me sob endlessly I just know it. So I leave it up to you all, comment in a review ok? So far literally every review has made me smile. I feel so wonderful knowing that people are enjoying this story! *hugs* Let me know guys!**


	16. Fourteen

**First of all—thank you to every single person who reviewed, favorited and follow this story. To CJ/OddBall, your reviews are some of my favorite and I hate having to pick favorites! Thanks to those who want to see Ace continue into Age of Ultron I will start working on that. There is one more chapter of this part of Ace's story, then it will switch into her going into Age of Ultron.**

Chapter Fourteen~

Kneeling next to Steve and ripping another part of my uniform to put pressure on his wound, we both heard the sound of heavy gun fire outside. Knowing we had done it, that we had saved literally millions of lives brought a smile on my face. Even if I didn't make it out alive, at least I had done so while having cleared my conscious. Helping Steve onto his feet by holding an arm under a shoulder, we forced ourselves to walk forward on the catwalk. But upon Steve having stopped I looked at where he was looking to see Soldier, trapped under a heavy metal beam. Taking a step away from me, Steve move to jump off the catwalk as I shouted at him,

"Steve please!" though I wasn't sure what I was begging him for as he disappeared over the ledge. Feeling myself getting numb from the blood loss, I knew I had to help the two of them so slide off the catwalk. Once on the glass below, I ran as best I could over to the beam where Steve was trying to lift it up. Together we managed to pull it high enough so that Soldier could slide out from underneath it. Seeing him slide out and force himself to stand, I heard Steve telling him,

"You know me."

"No I don't!" Soldier shouted charging at Steve and slamming him into the glass floor. Stumbling backwards holding my wounded shoulder, I leaned against the metal beam as Steve continued,

"Bucky, you've known me your whole life." only again Soldier punched Steve right in the face sending Steve flying backwards.

"Your name is James Buchannan Barnes!" Steve shouted as Soldier rammed his metal fist into Steve's shield. Stumbling over towards them now limping heavily, I shouted at Soldier,

"Soldier stop it!" yet it seemed he didn't hear me as Steve took off his cap and said as he dropped his shield so that it fell to the river below,

"I'm not going to fight you, you're my friend." watching Soldier sway a bit, the man who had been by my side through everything in HYDRA let out a cry of rage. Before he could run at Steve, I raced forward as fast as I could and grabbed his arm, turning him around towards me. Because of that I received a punch to the face by Soldier's metal fist, the impact forcing me onto my knees before him. Panting heavily and feeling incredibly dizzy, I looked up at him seeing a flicker of confusion and realization as I said to him,

"I still trust you Soldier." at that his eyes widened and he took a step back, his whole face filled with agony. Just as quickly as it came, every emotion left his face as he turned back to Steve and rammed him into the glass floor. Leaning over him, he began punching him with his metal fist shouting over and over,

"You're my mission!" unable to get up again, my body too exhausted to even try, I was forced to watch the scene play out before me. After at least five punches to the face, I heard Steve barley able to say,

"Then finish it, because I'm with you to the end of the line." that seemed to trigger something inside Soldier, some sort of horrific understanding as his fist stayed in the air unable to punch Steve again. From overhead I heard a loud roaring sound to look up and see part of the catwalk falling towards the two of them. Instinct kicked in and with one last rush of adrenaline stood up shouting,

"BUCKY!" and pushing him out of the way felt the glass under my feet give way—and then I was falling. Closing my eyes as soon as the glass gave way I watched my entire life fly before my eyes. Brooklyn New York where I was born, the World Exhibition of Tomorrow where I danced with someone, scrawny Steve turning muscular. I saw myself in a raining tent next to Steve, jumping out of a plane and then in a bar with men known as the Howling Commandos laughing. I saw a snowy mountain range, a speeding train on a track, falling to a void below. Just falling, never ending and all-consuming Darkness waiting for me. Suddenly my back hit something freezing cold as my whole body grew weightless, I had fallen into the river miles underneath the Hellicarrier. If this was Death then I welcomed it, my conscious was clear and my heart was stitched back together. Suddenly the weight on my chest was lifted and I just hardly was able to feel myself being lifted up into the air. Something hard hit my back and I felt the warmth of sunlight on my face which abled me to open my eyes. Through hazy vision I noticed someone hovering above me and when the haze faded saw who it was. With a cut on his face and hair hanging in strands from the water dripping down his cheeks, his metal arm held his side as his flesh hand touched my cheek. Leaning into the hand, I let out a whimper before telling the figure,

"I still trust you—Bucky." two pale blue eyes, so full of emotion met mine as he leaned forwards to leave a kiss on my lips.

"Just forget me Hannah." he murmured before he stood up intending to leave. Despite how much I wanted to stop him my body was far too numb to even try to move. Closing my eyes, I let my mind wander as I faintly heard sirens in the background. Turning my head to one side, I cracked open my eyes to see Steve lying next to me and looking worse than me. Out cold, he was bleeding from various wounds and I could tell he was having trouble breathing. Suddenly a voice sounded nearby and I spotted people running towards us. A familiar redhead appeared in my line of vision as she looked over my injuries.

"Help—Steve." I whimpered out so that she just smiled at me telling me,

"He's getting help right now, now it's your turn."

"I—don't—deserve it." I told her making the redhead frown as I felt myself being lifted up on something. Taking my hand into hers, the woman told me in a forceful voice as if trying to imprint her words in my head,

"Some people don't deserve a second chance, others need it and some earn it. I know from experience what it's like to get a second chance that I didn't deserve. You not only deserve a second chance but you need and earned it. Don't let this chance slip away ok?" just moving my head an inch in what I wanted to be a nod, I felt her hand leave mine as I closed my eyes again. My name is Hannah 'Ace' Cohen, I grew up in Brooklyn New York and went off to Europe during World War Two. I knew the Howling Commandos, I was one of them and fought alongside them. I was found by HYDRA in 1945 and put into Cryostasis before having to endure endless amounts of torture and pain. I was brainwashed, I killed over two dozen people in almost fifty years, and I was given the codename Pale Shadow. My two best friends are Steven Grant Rogers and James Buchannan Barnes, my two best friends are Captain America and the Winter Soldier. I had died once with Bucky, I had died again with Steve. I was saved alongside Bucky, I was saved alongside Steve. My name is Pale Shadow, my name is Hannah Cohen.


	17. Fifteen

**In this chapter I try to explain some things—first off, the scar Ace has is explained here only if it's confusing it's because I rewrote the info really late at night. Second, I used the idea of what happens from AoU; when Vision is created and they used the 'secret ingredient' to have him come to life. Third, I used a translator online to try and translate the Russian on Bucky's file from HYDRA. From what I found the Russian translates to 'Case' but if it's wrong I apologize. Fourth, there is a hidden quote from Lord of the Rings—can you find it? And lastly—be prepared for the feels at the end of this chapter!**

Chapter Fifteen~

I was in a hospital that much I knew from the sound of the heartbeat monitor to the feeling of an IV in my arm. It was quiet except for the sound of some song playing in the background. Not recognizing the song, I forced my eyes open to see a white ceiling overhead. Looking to my left I saw an IV machine and heartbeat monitor. To my right I saw another bed where lying in it was a beaten up blonde haired man. Beside him was a person reading a book casually, humming along to the song being played. I must have made a noise because he looked up from his book to see me, giving me a smile.

"Rise and shine Blondie." he said making me remember who he was; Sam Wilson, Falcon. Just able to return the smile, I glanced back over at the blonde to hear Sam say,

"He's been out just as long as you. But he's a tough guy."

"Yeah, Steve always has been." I muttered but apparent I said it loud enough for Sam to hear because he started to chuckle. Apparently the noise jostled Steve enough to make his eyes open and for him to look around a bit.

"On your left." I heard Steve say making me reply,

"With you always Punk." causing Steve to turn and look at me, a smile crossing his face. Closing his eyes again, I shared a glance with Sam who just shook his head before going back to his book. Soon a doctor came in and after checking our machines told us two weeks, that's how long they expected Steve and me to stay in the hospital. Apparently the doctors found something they weren't suspecting and where unable to understand completely. They told me that apparently I had had surgery before because three of my vertebra behind where my heart is located—where metal. Not just any metal—but made from Vibranium. Seems that was the reason I had the scar on my chest. The Vibranium had slowly over the years began to absorb into the tissue of my spine so that my brainwaves were twice the normal speed. What's more was the fact that my body had grown so accustom to this 'strange normality' that even my bloodstream had traces of the metal that had fused with my red and white blood cells. Now a week after we arrived in the hospital Steve and I were ready to be discharged and found ourselves staying at Sam's. He was more than understanding and helped us out along the way, even joking about me giving him a scar from a bullet that hit his arm. We heard all about Natasha Romanoff's hearing on Capitol Hill, we learned that Maria Hill was going to work for Stark Industries in the Human Recourses department, we found out that Director Nicholas J Fury was going to be buried. Now as Sam, Steve and I stand in a graveyard looking at a tombstone with the name 'Nicholas J Fury' on it as we hear a voice say,

"So you've experienced thing sort of thing before." looking over to see a man with a hood over his head, sunglasses on and one arm in a sling caused me to smirk since I knew who it was.

"You get used to it, trust me." I told him getting the man known as Nicholas J Fury to turn to me and smirk right on back at me.

"We've been data mining HYDRA's files, looks like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship." Fury told us so that Steve exhaled deeply in pain.

"I'm heading for Europe tonight, wanted to ask if you'd come." Fury continued looking right at Steve who just said,

"There's something I got to do first." so that Fury turned to Sam saying to him,

"How about you Wilson? We could use someone with your abilities." but Sam just told him while looking over at Steve,

"I'm more of a soldier than a spy." coming to look at me, Fury said,

"You've been through it all kid, a century later and you sure did make a name for yourself didn't you? I read all about you in the files; Pale Shadow, the Fourth Horseman, never leaves anyone living behind. You where there when Romanoff was shot in Odessa yet kept her alive, Romanoff told me all about that one. Doubt you'd be willing to go back to that world, would you?" looking at Steve then Sam, I turned to look out over the graveyard to see a darken shadow vanish into the tree line far ahead of us. Smirking, I turned back to see the man I had once been sent to kill yet now I'd be willing to save his life.

"No thank you sir, I finally cleared my conscious but I have to prove that to everyone else." nodding at my answer, the man held out his hand for me to shake—a sign of trust and understanding. After shaking his hand, Fury told us,

"All right then, if anyone asks for me tell them they can find me, right here." then shaking Sam and Steve's hands, he walked off as calmly as one could be considering they were just buried. Suddenly a female voice chimed in from behind us,

"You should be honored that's as close as he gets to a 'thank you'." turning to see Natasha Romanoff I smiled at her as she came over towards us. Steve went to meet her halfway as he asked her,

"Not going with him?"

"No." she told us before smirking to herself.

"Not staying here?" he wondered so that as she looked around, Natasha told him,

"I blew all of my covers, I got to figure out a new one." walking over to stand next to Steve I said to her simply,

"That could take a while you know." only she just shrugged as I noticed the file in her hand which made me raise an eyebrow at her.

"That thing you asked for, I called in a few favors from Kiev," handing the file to Steve, I noticed on it Russian along with the number 17.

"Be careful Steve, you might not want to pull on that thread." I heard Natasha say looking back up at the woman who turned to look at me before saying,

"Keep an eye on him won't you Hannah."

"Two eyes, as often as I can spare them." I replied making her nod before she walked away leaving Steve to open 'Case 17'—the file belonging to a man whose picture was that of him frozen in ice. Down next to it on one corner was another picture belonging to a man in a WW2 uniform.

"You're going after him." I heard Sam say from behind us, it wasn't a question but a statement as I watched Steve look longingly at the picture of the man in the WW2 uniform.

"You don't have to come with me." Steve told him but glancing over at Sam who just replied,

"I know." got me to smile at him, Sam returning the smile once he saw mine. Walking around me to be able to see Steve's face, Sam asked him,

"When do we start?"

"We already did guys." I told him getting Steve to turn to see me, a confused look on his face. Rolling my eyes, I put a hand on each of his shoulders saying to him while looking him right in the eye,

"I followed you once remember? I went to a World War 2 divided Europe to help find and save Bucky. I followed you once, I'm going to do it again." a slow smile stretched across his face as he pulled me in for a tight hug, holding onto me as if never wanting to let go. Finally when he did pull back, he looked to Sam before closing the file and together we left the graveyard. About a week or so later after the events at the graveyard I found myself out and about on my own for the first time since breaking free of my old shell of a life. Dressed in dark blue jeans, a navy blue shirt and black leather jacket, I had my white blonde hair tied into a braid behind my head. I was enjoying just being outside without having to constantly look over my shoulder, which I did anyway out of habit. After about an hour and a half I found that my feet had led me to the National Mall where the Smithsonian was and smiled. Walking into the Air and Space Museum, I walked around inside looking about before coming to the Captain America Exhibit. The first time I was here I didn't know who I really was, now as I look at the pictures and items and watch the video footage I smile. Suddenly I felt a tugging on my jacket and looked down to see a young girl.

"Is your name Ace?" she asked with big puppy dog eyes so that smiling brightly told her,

"The one and only." which made her grin brightly as she tugged on my sleeve saying to me with a joy I couldn't even begin to imagine,

"You're my favorite superhero!" hearing her say that made my heart ache, understanding that to her I was someone to look up to—another superhero to save the day. Her words both hurt and made me feel better. Putting my hands on my knees, I smiled at her saying,

"Anyone can be a superhero, even you kid." and tapping her nose with my finger her mother came over to take the girls hand. I watched the young girl leave with her mother waving to me as she said,

"Bye Ace!" happier than I had in a century, I started to leave the exhibit when I felt as if I was being watched. Slowly scanning the crowds for any sign of danger, I couldn't help but noticed the darting figure heading to an employs only door. Frowning and unable to help it, instinct kicked in and I followed them. Apparently the figure figured out I was following them—and there stood Bucky.


	18. Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen~

For a very long moment we just stared at one another, not moving and hardly breathing. I made the first move taking a step towards him afraid he'd vanish into thin air. Afraid that I was seeing things or making up the fact he was in front of me. It wasn't until he crushed me in a welcomed embrace that I knew I wasn't dreaming. Burying my face into his jacket and clinging onto him, I felt his flesh hand running up and down my shoulder. Finally the two of us pulled back enough to see one another; he had cut his hair short and grown a slight beard but otherwise he was still my Bucky. With his flesh hand he traced my cheek before his thumb went across my lower lip. His eyes held so many conflicting emotions; pain, grief, sorrow, joy, confusion and even fear.

"Please don't follow me." he finally said making me blink in wonder as I told him,

"No, no I have to."

"No you don't, Steve needs you." he told me only taking his metal hand in my own as I gave it a squeeze I told him,

"Steve needs the both of us." for a moment he just looked at me before turning away telling me,

"There are things I need to do first." I knew what he meant, he wanted to hunt down HYDRA and probably destroy anyone who got in his way.

"I'm going with you Bucky." I said firmly only he pulled his hand out of mine and took a step back saying,

"I need to figure out who I am—what I'm supposed to do with myself."

"I can help you, you know I can." I said trying to hide the ache in my voice yet he just shook his head saying to me in a firm voice as if trying to convince not only me—but himself.

"You have to stay with Steve because I won't let anything happen to you. He can protect you, make sure you stay out of trouble." though the last part was meant to tease me it only hurt my heart more. Seeing the agony in my eyes at his words, that he didn't want me with him, I watched him dig around in one of his pockets. Frowning as I wondered what he could be looking for, I watched him pull out a small white square box.

"It's a promise." he explained holding the box out to me so that upon opening it found a bracelet inside. Made of silver, there was a red star in the center that appeared to be made from rubies. Feeling my throat tighten as I put it on my right wrist, I wasn't prepared for the kiss he gave me. Clinging to his jacket as he forced every emotion into the kiss when he finally pulled away I realized—I was crying. With his flesh thumb Bucky whipped away my tears before kissing my lips one last time.

"I've got to go Hannah." he murmured against my lips so forcing myself to nod, he stepped back and began walking down the hall and away from me. I watched as he pushed open another door which must lead outside before he hesitated.

"I promise." was all he said before slipping out the door and once he was gone I forced myself to return to the museum. Every step seemed heavier and heavier as I got out the cell phone Steve had given to me. Dialing his number and waiting a few times while it rang, by the time he answered I was already outside and crying softly.

"Hannah? What's wrong, did something happen?" he asked upon hearing my soft sobs so that making myself walk away from the building I told him,

"No, no nothing's wrong Steve. I was—I'm at the museum reliving my life." that was true since it was the reason I'd gone back only I couldn't bring myself to tell Steve about Bucky. Bucky trusted me beyond a shadow of a doubt that I wouldn't tell anyone about him. I could see the need for me to stay quiet while he had started to leave.

"I'm coming to pick you up." I heard Steve say so that nodding I took a seat on a bench somewhere in the National Mall to wait. Keeping an eye out for—anything—an hour later I spotted Steve walking over. After giving me a hug the two of us returned to his car and started for Sam's place.

"You want to say something, say it." I told him since I could tell he had something on his mind. Exhaling deeply, Steve glanced over at me before saying,

"I'm going to New York." frowning at this since I didn't understand why, Steve frowned as he explained,

"The others—the Avengers—they want me to go back to help them. Apparently the Scepter was stolen and they have to track it down. So they want me to return and stay with them at the Tower."

"Wait—what scepter and what Tower? And who are the Avengers?" I asked making him chuckle as he told me everything I needed to know. Seems the 'Scepter' was something someone named 'Loki' had used two years ago to attack Manhattan with. After what he called the 'Battle of New York' the Scepter went into SHIELD custody but while SHIELD was crumbling the Scepter was stolen. The Avengers it seemed was a team Steve was a part of; Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, Clint Barton aka Hawkeye, Thor aka someone from not around here, Bruce Banner aka the Hulk and Tony Stark aka Iron Man. The last name sounded familiar only I couldn't figure out why as he told me how Tony had remolded his building now called Avenger Tower. Seems the group often stayed there working together on projects.

"You're more than welcomed to come with me, in fact I want you to." Steve said as we pulled into Sam's driveway and turning to see him smiled.

"Like I'd let you have all the fun." I told him making Steve laugh as we both got out of the car and headed back inside. Once inside Sam came over with an envelope saying to us,

"This just arrived from the one and only Tony Stark. It's addressed to you Steve." taking the envelope from him, Steve leaned against the couch which I took a seat on while playing with my new bracelet. Hearing Steve chuckle had me looking up to see him as he pulled out what looked like plane tickets.

"Seems we're heading for the city sooner than expected." he said holding out a ticket to me which caused me to blink. Taking it had me realizing that the ticket was for me, that I really was going with him.

"I told Tony that I wanted to bring you along. Seems he took that as a reason to get you a ticket." Steve explained making me smile as Sam just shook his head while saying,

"Guess you two are leaving my sorry ass behind." rolling my eyes at him as I said,

"Don't think for a moment we'd let you off the hook fella." raising an eyebrow at me as he crossed his arms, Sam asked teasingly,

"Besides, someone has to stay here chasing leads right?" I knew what he meant, Bucky, but I didn't let that show on my face as Steve stood up saying,

"Guess we better go pack up." nodding, I followed him towards the guest bedroom we'd been sharing only upon entering the room Steve slammed the door shut. Turning to see me with a hard expression and crossing his arms, I stared right on back at him as he said,

"You saw him—didn't you?" I said nothing but just stared right on back at him as he continued,

"That's a rather nice new bracelet you got there."

"Ok fine I saw him alright?" I snapped before adding,

"He—he needs to find out who he really is. He doesn't want either of us getting hurt along the way."

"We can help him though, doesn't he know that?" Steve said his voice sounding more worried than angry as I shook my head. Sighing heavily as I looked down to fumble with the bracelet Bucky had given me, I replied,

"He's going after HYDRA—I know how he thinks Steve. He'll do whatever it takes to get answers; hurt, torture, threaten to kill or kill whoever gets in his way. He's not used to vengeance since that wasn't what we—we had to do." then looking back up at him with a stony expression told him honestly,

"He won't let anyone stop him—he has a new mission." at that I noticed Steve bristle yet didn't care since I'd gotten the point across. For a moment we just stared at one another before he walked past me saying,

"We have to pack." biting my tongue as I headed to grab a bag I paused at the bedroom door saying as I looked over my shoulder,

"If he wanted me to go with him I'd already be gone." hating the way my voice wavered with tears, I stormed out of the room fighting back wanting to cry. That night we ate in tense silence; Sam didn't want to talk since he didn't know what was going on, Steve was mad at me but mostly mad at himself, and I just wanted to be left alone. The next day we found ourselves boarding a private plane that Tony Stark had sent for us. It wasn't until we were landing that Steve forgave me.


	19. Seventeen

**First let me say that I'm sorry it took so long to update, I've been re-writing so many different versions of this before I settled on this final version. I seriously can't believe I've gotten so many reviews, follows and favorites—each new one makes me grin like a loony. In this chapter what Tony decides to let Ace have is based on the Civil War trailer. I wanted Ace to have something of both teams, Team Tony and Team Steve. Of course we all know what side she'll pick yet I want there to be some sort of conflict if even a little bit since the movie hasn't come out yet. After this chapter I think I'll start into AoU so watch out for that. Thanks again everyone!**

Chapter Seventeen~

After arriving in NYC and unable to stop admiring the sights around me, the two of us stepped into Avenger Tower. Once inside the lobby Steve led me to a private elevator explaining that only the Avengers and a few select others could access the elevator. Apparently the top ten floors of the Tower had been renovated for the group to not only work and train but also to stay in. The top floor was Tony Stark's penthouse and under that was where the others stayed. There was a laboratory, gym/training center and even a control area. When the elevator doors opened and we stepped out I noticed the group sitting around a TV playing a video game.

"Hey guys!" Steve called out so that it was who I suspected to be Clint Barton turned off the game. As they started on over I tried to place names with faces only they introduced themselves to me. Clint Barton shook my hand, Bruce Banner though shy shook my hand, Thor clapped a hand on my shoulder in greeting, Natasha who had arrived earlier gave me a one arm hug and Tony Stark—he just rolled his eyes.

"Remind me why I'm letting a former HYDRA assassin in my Tower?" he asked in a snarky tone so that before anyone could blink I had removed a dagger from my belt. With a flick of the wrist the dagger went flying past Tony's head and into the wall behind him literally inches from his head.

"Don't worry about that, I missed." I hissed at him so that watching him narrow his eyes, Tony grabbed the dagger and with all his force threw it at me. Just before it could ebbed itself into my forehead I grabbed the blade and held it at my side. Not reacting to the others who stood wide eyed and in shock, I put the dagger back into my belt while saying,

"I'm honestly not here to cause trouble, trouble finds Me." glaring at Tony at the last bit, I turned to Steve saying,

"You could at least warn me about him." Steve shrugged before it was Natasha walked over offering to show me to my bedroom downstairs. So following her back into the elevator we rode in silence until we stepped out again.

"That's a rather nice bracelet you got there." she said smoothly so that trying my best not wanting to slap her, I simply stayed quiet. As we walked into the hallway where the bedrooms where she opened a door and let me enter first. A large double bed, closet, a couch in front of a TV greeted me—even a private bathroom! Walking over to the bed, I ran a hand over the covers saying mostly to myself,

"I've never had this large a bed." I didn't see the flash of pain in Natasha's eyes upon hearing this but did hear her say,

"Steve tells me you bumped into the Soldier."

"Yeah and he needs to learn to keep his mouth shut." I groaned before turning around to see her and say,

"If you had to choose between your best friend and the person you're in love with beyond any doubt—what would you do?" she frowned at this as she crossed her arms telling me,

"In this world there is no room for romance."

"Then you have no idea how I feel." I snapped before storming pass her to leave the bedroom only she stopped me by grabbing my upper arm. Glaring at her for a long moment without saying a word, she finally said to me,

"You're going to have to pick a side Hannah."

"I already did, this is my last chance—and you know that." I hissed before shrugging her hand off me and storming out of the bedroom. I didn't know where I was going until I found myself in the gym destroying a punching bag. With each punch and kick I imaged Rollins, Peirce or Rumlow that I was beating the shit out of. It wasn't until the sandbag went flying across the room that I stopped to breathe hearing footsteps behind me. Turning I saw it was Tony who looked a mix between amused and standoffish.

"That was impressive, though now you owe me a new punching bag." he teased though when I said nothing he exhaled deeply and shook his head. Walking over rubbing the back of his neck he looked sideways as he said,

"I hear you're a good sharp shooter."

"Last time I checked I was." I told him with a smirk making the man chuckle as he shrugged continuing,

"Well it just so happens that I was working on a new project. Not a gun or anything like that—but a new lighter weight suit of armor." raising an eyebrow at him as he walked over towards a large refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.

"See, all my other Iron Man suits are heavy and bulky and whatnot. I've been trying to figure out how to make them less heavy but still have all the power behind it. Problem is that I had to keep removing rockets and lasers to make the suit lighter. That left it with just the armor and two propel thrusters on the back to make you fly." throwing the water bottle at my head I instantly caught it making him smirk.

"I need someone to test it out on, the suit I mean. I have to keep tweaking the project to see what works or doesn't."

"And you want me to be your test dummy?" I asked snorting at the idea as I chugged the water since I was incredibly thirsty.

"No silly, I'd give it to you to use." he said so seriously that I choked on my water and stared in shock at him. All teasing aside now, Tony had his arms crossed as he said,

"If you're going to stay here and tag along with Capsicle we're going to have to squeeze you into the team. He trusts you without a single doubt whatsoever, I've never seen that much trust towards anyone else. If he believes so strongly in you—if he trusts you that much—I'll have to get used to it." letting his words sink in for a moment, I smiled at him as I told him,

"Guess you're going to have to just deal with me then." at that Tony laughed putting an arm around my shoulder to lead me to his laboratory. For almost five hours he tested his 'suit' prototype. By the time the two of us left to finally go to bed Tony had agreed to what colors I wanted the suit to be; black with pale gold highlights. After leaving the laboratory I finally entered my new bedroom to look around and notice a small bag. When I looked inside I found there was a few t-shirt and two pairs of jeans, clean underclothes, toiletries and even a small wallet with some money. Figuring it was Natasha made me smile as I changed into the sweatpants and black t-shirt. Turning off the lights and climbing into the bed, I remembered what Tony had told me about his all-knowing AI butler.

"JARVIS?" I called out to hear a British accented voice reply,

"Yes Ms. Cohen?"

"Ok first of all either call me Hannah or Ace. Second—is anyone else awake?" I told the voice so that after a moment he told me,

"No one else seems awake but Captain Rogers." rolling my eyes when I saw it was almost midnight, I got out of bed hearing,

"He's currently outside on the balcony." which made me smile as I headed for the only balcony I knew of on this floor. Stopping in front of the glass doorway when I saw his back to me, I took a deep breath before opening the door. He didn't turn around when I walked over to him so that I leaned on the railing next to him.

"If Bucky got ahold of you, would you let me know?" he asked making me exhale deeply and shake my head while looking at the skyline.

"While we were with HYDRA—the only other person I remembered throughout the years was Bucky. Every year he was there right by my side, we were partners in crime no pun intended." I began noticing Steve smirking at my last statement.

"I don't know when that partnership turned into actually feelings considering that 'feelings' weren't allowed. We were meant to be machines, cold heartless killer's not actually human beings. Even so we—something changed and feelings got involved. We trust one another with our lives because we always had to. If I were to break that trust—make him think I'm against him—it would break my heart. I can't—I can't have him hate me when I love him so much." for a moment he said nothing and we just watched the skyline glitter and gleam with neon lights.

"If things were different Ace—if you had gone with him," he began only I turned to see him saying,

"I'd do anything to be with him right now Steve. He knows that and that's why I'm here. He doesn't want anything to happen to me. That applies to you too Steve—he doesn't want anything to happen to you, to us, because of him." looking at me at last, Steve gave me a weak smile as he says,

"We'll just have to wait then, won't we?" no matter how much it hurt to know that, I knew he was right. No matter what would happen we had each other to keep us going—until we found Bucky.


	20. Eighteen

**You guys have literally NO idea how sorry I am that I haven't posted in so long! Between real life events that had me hardly treading water and major writers block that nearly killed the Plot Bunny, I feel I need to give out cookies for everyone! Please don't hate meh!**

Chapter Eighteen~ **One Year Later—Outside HYDRA Research Facility—Sokovia**

During the flight from NYC to the Eastern European country of Sokovia, I checked and double checked my suit. After seemingly forever of figuring out how to best use it, Tony tweaking the design and fights with HYDRA, it was finally the best version. Looking like Tony's Iron Man suit in the sense it was made of the same material, it was designed and modified to be able to fit in a metal backpack. Totally black with pale gold highlights including the face mask, two jets on the back allowed me to fly up overhead while my hands were free since the armor stopped at my wrists. That allowed me to use a gun so much easier and gave me the ability to reload and change what gun I'd use. Looking around at the others while I made my final adjustments, tying my hair into a tight bun and putting on my gloves, I saw the whole team antsy about this mission. This was to be the largest HYDRA base we'd attack within the entire year we'd been after the Scepter. Of course it was Steve who laid out the plan; Natasha and Clint would try and commandeer a vehicle while Bruce 'Hulked' out and Steve used his motorcycle. Thor, Tony and I would be overhead with me laying cover to those on the ground. It was supposed to be quick, easy, and a get in get out situation. Now as I fly overhead firing at those down below to cover Natasha, Clint and Steve I realize that the 'easy' mission was anything but. As the team continue to battle down below I watch Tony fly up to try and fire at the building that is the base.

"Shit!" he snaps over the communicator so that I roll my eyes under my helmet saying to him,

"Watch it, the language police is here."

"Ha, ha very funny Ace." Steve replies in a grunt as I rain bullets down on the group of soldiers trying to slow him down.

"JAVIS what's the view from upstairs?" Steve asks so that the all-knowing and all-seeing satellite in space owned by Tony and controlled by his AI system tells us,

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any HYDRA base we've taken."

"So the winning lottery prize must be inside, goody." I say landing for a moment to reload my M-16 assault rifle before spying a few soldiers running towards me. Not even phased, I grab an explosive from my belt and throw it at them sending them flying into the air with the blast. Over the com I didn't hear what Thor said between the explosion but do manage to hear Natasha say,

"At long last is lasting a little long guys."

"Yeah I think we lost the element of surprise." Clint replies so that seeing overhead that he's taking out bunkers fly over to help him. Landing near him, I watch as he fires an explosive arrow at the bunker sending pieces flying. With my gun I take just a moment to aim before taking out the two guns still somehow functioning on the bunkers top. Watching as the guns start to spaz out I smirk under my mask before nodding to Clint who gives me a 'show off' expression. Shooting back up into the air I get up just in time to watch Steve throw his bike at a truck and with the truck flipping over forwards say,

"Really Steve? What bike destroyed is that now like—four?"

"Five actually but who's counting." he says as he throws his shield making it bounce between a group of soldiers before he grabs it again. As JARVIS tells Tony the city is taking fire I say between grunts,

"Remember Tony these guys don't like us too much. They're not just going to listen to a metal robot."

"Yeah well unless they want to go 'boom' they will." he says before adding,

"Want to help take out some of these guns up here Spade?" groaning at my nickname he'd given me, I fly up higher to start removing the men manning the long range guns. Not even blinking as men tumble off the walls or fall down either mortally wounded or dead, my scanner picks up on a fast moving target making me frown. Seeing the scanner unable to pick up a speed itself, I note the location its heading and fly off that way. Down below me I see Clint ready to take out another bunker only his arrow doesn't hit the target. Confused and a bit annoyed, I move to land near him only to see his body flip upwards before he crashes hard onto the ground. Landing, I see what my scanner had been picking up and gasp in shock.

"You didn't see that coming?" the male figure asks taunting at Clint before moving to speed off only I stop him by throwing an exploding smoke bomb at his feet. As he coughs and stumbles about waving the smoke away I step in front of him removing my helmet to ask,

"Pietro?" only by the time the smoke has cleared and he can finally see again I've already taken off into the air not wanting to see his face—again. With helmet safety covering my face, I hear Natasha shout,

"Clint's hit!" and despite wanting to help instead focus on giving both Natasha and Clint cover from overhead.

"Stark we really need to get inside!" Steve snaps so that since my suit is connected to JARIVS's systems I ask him,

"Where's the weak link buddy?"

"There's a particle wave below the north tower." is his smooth reply so that even before I can head off in that direction I spy Tony swooping off ahead. Hearing him chuckle since his suit is faster thanks to his extra power gear, I make a mental note to mess with his perfect hair later. When I have to land again something comes speeding at me so quickly my scanner doesn't read it until I'm landing on my back. Standing over me with my own damn gun aimed at my helmet is the last person I honestly thought I'd see again in my seventy plus years of life. With a furious expression on his face and finger on the trigger he doesn't fire because I lower my helmet. Seeing my face, I watch Pietro stumble backwards as if hit by a ton of bricks so that quickly grabbing my gun don't hesitate like he did fly up into the sky again. Pietro—Pietro Maximoff was not only here but had survived the years I'd known him and his sister Wanda to be at HYDRA. Only since I had been told they both died before the events in Washington I wasn't able to shake the look of hurt and betrayal on his face.

"Draw bridge is down people!" I snap out of my thoughts at this and start to warn the others about what I'd just seen when instead I pick up that Clint has to be evacuated because of his wound.

"I'll get him to the jet, you guys worry about getting in." I say flying off to where I'd last seen both Natasha and Clint so that landing notice she's patched him up as best she could. Helping him to stand with an arm under his shoulders, Clint groans saying,

"I hate flying."

"And yet you're named after a bird." I tease lowering my helmet to wink at him as he makes a face while I make sure to get a good grip on his body. Kicking off into the air and putting as much speed into my jets, I zoom off to the Quinjet and land not even five minutes afterwards. As the Quinjet door lowers and I help him inside to lie down Thor lands behind us soon after saying as he storms in,

"Go and help the others, I shall take care of Barton from here."

"Make sure to numb his wound before prepping him for a patch up job." I remind Thor since last time—he'd forgotten to do just that. With a nod and small smile at me, I head on off hearing Natasha saying,

"We're locked down out here."

"And I missed the fun, for shame!" I mock making a sweep around the nearby area for any sign of extra soldiers who might be sneaking on into the area. When I'm sure I don't see or pick up anyone on my scanner I land starting a scan on my suit for repairs.

"We have a second Enhanced, female, do not engage." Steve's voice says in my ear so that I freeze muttering aloud,

"Wanda?" only instead of correcting myself speed off towards the base unable to believe what I'd just heard. By the time I land at the base and walk on in I've removed my suit into the backpack and wear my black plain uniform underneath. Despite knowing I'm off the mission right now both Hannah Cohen and Pale Shower, two halves that make up who I am now, want—need to see the two twins with my own eyes. I still couldn't fathom Pietro being alive let alone Wanda also, it literally blew my mind.

"Shadow?" I hear from behind me from a female voice with an accent and so taking a moment to make my expression steel, turn to see her standing behind me. A look of both confusion and wonder is on her face as she slowly walks over asking,

"Whatever are you doing here? And why now after all this time?" in a flash of blue light another figure appears beside her—Pietro—who says in disgust,

"She is with the Avengers." turning to see her brother then look back at me, I don't even blink as her face turns into a sneer.

"You betrayed HYDRA?" she hisses so that scoffing and unable to stop rolling my eyes I tell them,

"When you're born before World War Two and are brainwashed, tortured and forced to kill thousands of innocent people against your will—you'd do anything to wash the blood off your hands." and not giving them a chance to speak through a smoke bomb at them and I'm gone, like a shadow.


	21. Ninteen

**Dear everyone who has read, is following and favorite this story I am so sorry. First let me say that I never meant for it to take THIS LONG for me to put up another chapter. Second let me say that I feel so horrible that I've waited as long as I have. Third let me tell you that having seen Civil War I have been torn inside about what happens in said movie. If you haven't seen the movie GO SEE IT! Also, I may add one or two small spoilers to this story but when I do I'll post a warning when I post them. Please enjoy the next chapter and know that Hannah 'Ace' Cohen won't be gone for another seventy years!**

Chapter Nineteen~

The flight back to New York seemed to take forever while I was lost inside my mind. Images flashed before my eyes, sights and sounds I thought had been fried along with everything else in my memories. Vaguely in the distance I could hear the others talking but it was as if I was underwater. I could hear their voices but not what they were saying—I was drowning in my own mind. It wasn't until someone sat down next to me that I snapped well—Pale Shadow snapped. With near lightning fast reflexes I had grabbed, twisted and locked whoever's arm it was behind their back only to hear,

"Ace it's me! It's Steve!" gasping as I let go of his arm and shrunk against the wall, I made sure to close my eyes and hide from the others looking at me. During the year training and getting to know the Avengers I had had my fair share of nightmares, relapses and even short mental breakdowns. It was always Steve who pulled me back from my own personal Hell though often times I wished it was Bucky. Even know I had had a jeweler make a less expensive version of the bracelet he'd given me. According to the jeweler the bracelet was worth a good chunk of money. What's more there was a small engraving that I hadn't noticed before just under the star which read 'Promise'.

"Sorry Steve I—I got lost." I finally said opening my eyes to see his concerned blue eyes locked on my face, trying to read my expression.

"Another memory?" he asked softly making me simply nod my head and chew on my lower lip. How on earth was I going to tell Steve let alone everyone that I knew the two Enhanced they just fought? Feeling a hand touch my shoulder though with a softer weight had me look to see Steve smiling at me in understanding. He was the only one out of everyone who understood—other than Bucky. After the rest of the flight back to New York I was ready to take out my aggression on something not living. Once the Quinjet was safely landed and Clint on his way to get fixed up, Maria entered the jet with whatever info she had dug up.

"Labs all set up boss." she called making me chuckle since she was talking to Tony so I told her,

"He's just here to make us all look cooler than we really are."

"Right-oh Spade." Tony called from the piolet seat and giving me the thumbs up which I returned by sticking my tongue out at him.

"What's the word on Strucker?" I heard Steve say as I followed him off the jet while Maria explained that Strucker was with NATO—and who the two Enhanced were.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia has had a rough history. It's nowhere near special but it's on the way to everywhere special." she explained while Steve and I followed her into the Tower while Steve watched news footage on her tablet. As we walked I watched the footage and frowned, unable to believe that two people I had thought were dead weren't. So this is what it must have felt like when Steve learned Bucky and I were still living.

"There's something else you might want to see." I heard Maria say just before the elevator door closed on Steve and I so that taking a small photo from her had my heart freeze. Whatever Steve said to Maria or the other way around I never heard because in the photo were Pietro and Wanda—and my profile watching them. I wasn't ready or able to stop Steve from taking the photo and waited for him to start tearing me a part for having known them. Instead he just looked at me with something akin to dismay in his eyes.

"You knew them?" he asked only the second the elevator doors opened I was bolting out of it and sprinting to my secret hideaway. There was only one place in the whole building that no one else knew about, the only place that I was sure Steve wouldn't find me. While I had been exploring the building I had found it, a small locked storage room in the lower level of the garage. It had been locked seemingly forever with just boxes of broken, torn, shattered and mix-match pieces of metal. During the year when I had been too afraid of even my own mind I would hide down here. And now I was doing it again. Once save behind the door and with it locked, I stumbled against the wall and shrank into a corner. If only Bucky was here, if only he could help me with these endless terrors of my mind. Instead I was left to try and do everything I could to remove the blood on my hands. The blood that at this point had seeped into my skin and helped fuel the monster that HYDRA had made me. Only once I was sure I could leave as Hannah 'Ace' Cohen and not Pale Shadow did I step out of the secret room. Climbing the stairway up to the main lobby where once walking through headed for the private 'Avenger only' elevator.

"Oh Heather," the intern helping Pepper Potts called rushing over towards me while I shook my head. Stopping in front of me the young teen exhaled saying quickly,

"I know I got your name wrong again I'm sorry. I don't feel right calling you Ace that is. So um—yeah anyway here." and handing me a small envelope with 'Ace' on the front told me,

"Someone left it here at the receptionist desk. The receptionist never got a name so—" only I stopped her with,

"Was it a man or woman?" but she just shook her head telling me,

"It was some kid." frowning, I was about to ask her what the hell she meant only she cut me off with,

"He was wearing a Captain America shirt though." that had me smiling like a kid at Christmas as I thanked her and headed for the elevator. When the doors closed I torn open the envelope to see a post card of all things. On the front was the Kremlin in Moscow with the words in Russian 'от моего сердца к твоему'.

"From my heart to yours." a whispered before reading the back softly but aloud,

"Remember the first time we say this? The first mission we went on as partners, sometime around 1950. I thought of you the moment I saw this because that was the first mission I called you 'радость' because in the daylight you weren't a 'shadow'. Not with that hair of yours. I still remember my promise—I won't ever allow myself to forget it—or you." sniffling softly to myself, I folded the postcard into my pocket before stepping out of the elevator and headed to my bedroom. Only I found Steve leaning against my door with his arms crossed over his chest. He had changed out of his uniform and into simple jeans and a dark navy blue shirt.

"Where have you been? We had a meeting debriefing." Steve says when he notices me only I shrug telling him,

"I had to clear my head."

"Of what this time?" he says with a bite making me stare at him and for him to step back from the door and away from me. Raising one hand he starts to apologize only I tell him,

"Don't ok? I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be." he says taking my hands into his and giving them a squeeze as I fight to keep the tears from falling. I fail however because Steve brushes one off my cheek while telling me,

"I'm here for you Hannah, I always have and always will be."

"Even when I'm not Hannah?" I murmur as I take my hands from his and cupping his cheek tell him,

"I was a prisoner in my own mind Steve, for nearly seventy years unable to do anything but when asked of me. Now just because I broke out of the jail cell doesn't mean that I escaped." with that I kiss his cheek before opening my bedroom door and closing it gently behind me. I don't join the others for dinner but do grab a quick bite while they're too busy eating. Once in the safety of my bedroom I pull out Bucky's postcard and tuck it into the box hidden in the loose floorboard inside my closet. It isn't until around one am that I give up on sleep and head for the gym. Only I'm stopped however when I see the lights in Tony's lab still on. Frowning, I head on up to the lab and spy Tony and Bruce working on something.

"Security breach!" I hear Tony cry so that rolling my eyes walk into the room only to watch both men swipe away whatever they were working on.

"Tony, why do I have the feeling you're being naughty?" I ask him sweetly with hands behind my back so that giving me a mock hurt expression he says,

"When am I ever naughty?"

"When you play nice." I reply getting a chuckle out of Bruce who when Tony turns to see him says,

"I did nothing." smirking at the doctor as Tony takes my arm to lead me to the door, he stops before asking,

"The Wonder Twins—why did I find this among my research?" and taking out his phone, Tony plays a small clip of Wanda and myself fighting. When the screen cuts out I glance up to see a very upset looking Tony.

"Let's just say that I'm still looking for all the skeletons in my closet." I say so that shaking his hand free of my arm, I go straight to the gym. Six target dummies, ten rounds of spent ammunition later I feel a bit better. Problem is—I can still hear Wanda's screams and Pietro begging me to stop.


	22. Twenty

**Here everyone, a second chapter in two days to make up for my mistake of not posting in forever. Enjoy the drama!**

Chapter Twenty~

Had I had known about Tony's party on Saturday I wouldn't have stayed around long enough to be forced to go. Natasha all but dragged me out to dress shop so that after maybe twenty stores I finally found something I liked. A rich ruby color dress that stopped at my knees with two silver straps on my shoulders, the color scheme not lost on Natasha. While we were out and heading back to the Tower she had asked me,

"Any word from Romeo?"

"Shut up." was all I told her with a bite enough to shut up the mighty Black Widow. So now here I am taking sips from my White Russian and trying not to bring attention to myself. Upon spying a familiar and somewhat friendly face, I head on over to where Steve is playing pool with Sam.

"Hey, I didn't know you were coming." I say so that when he sees me Sam gives me a one armed hug before shrugging and telling me,

"Yeah well, I didn't know I was coming until I thought I got a lead but." glancing over at Steve who just gave the tiniest of shrugs, I let them finish their game of pool. Sam offered to let me take his place but after a very good trick shot had the two of them plus whoever was watching stare.

"What? I learned pool while in St. Petersburg." I told Steve making Sam laugh and shake his head as another group borrowed the pool table. Following the two since I was basically Steve's 'shadow' at this point, I let them talk while I listened. Only when we ended up overlooking the party did I add in my two cents.

"Have you found a place in Brooklyn yet?" Sam asked only smirking I playfully punch Steve in the shoulder saying,

"He doesn't think he can afford one, but I keep telling him on Stark's payroll he could."

"I'm not using Tony's money to buy my own place." Steve said rolling his eyes since we've had this conversation before, more than once. Laughing as Steve swings an arm over my shoulders and ruffles my hair pulled into a loose ponytail, Sam tells us,

"Well, home is home you know?"

"Yeah—and I just found mine again." I say honestly looking at Steve with a grin. At this Sam makes an 'aww' sound which gets both Steve and I to shove his shoulder with him crying,

"I give! I surrender!" another round of pool later with Steve and I verse Sam and Natasha, to which Steve and I won, I ended up talking to Bruce. He and I have always had this odd sort of understanding, him with a raging green Hulk tucked away while I fought my daemons every time I close my eyes.

"So—you and Natasha eh?" I ask teasingly giving his shoulder a nudge but he just smiles weakly stumbling over his words,

"Naw we're just friends."

"Sure and my last boyfriend went to World War Two." I told him jokingly but he knew what I meant. Sighing deeply and running a hand over his face while holding his glasses, Bruce turns to me asking,

"What do I do?" eyebrows rising into my hairline, I give him a hard look and say,

"Be honest. She isn't afraid of you or Hulk and that's a quality you won't find in most women." even though he chuckles I know there's no humor behind it as I continue,

"You being you makes you who you are. You doing what you do makes you what other people see you as. If you have the chance at happiness take it—because you never know when it's going to disappear." looking down at my wrist where my fake bracelet sits Bruce sighs saying wistfully,

"And you would know." nodding, I watch him stand and without saying anything kick him in the rear towards the bar where Natasha is making a drink. Hours later between one or two more White Russians, a few more games of pool to which I make some money winning and after seeing all the guest out including Sam—everyone ends up just relaxing. Somehow the conversation gets on the topic of Thor's mighty hammer and who is 'worthy' to use it.

"He whoever be he worthy shall haveth the power! Whatever man it's a trick!" Clint's saying mockingly so that rolling my eyes as Thor laughs all-knowingly before Thor offers Clint to try and lift it. While the group cheers or as in Tony's case teasing Clint on, I tell Thor,

"If you're the reason behind another broken table don't blame anyone else but yourself fella." while I speak Clint is clearly trying to lift the damn thing only gives and waves for Tony to try.

"Oh this is a Kodak moment." I say making Tony ask while walking over to the hammer,

"They still make those cameras?"

"Last time I used one was at the faire with the flying car." I told him making him blink and stare for a moment before shaking the look off his face. A moment or two after trying to pull the hammer, Tony goes and gets a piece of his Iron Man uniform. One by one the team try with everyone, including Steve, try and lift the hammer.

"What about you Spade huh?" Tony calls raising his beer bottle so that I just shake my head as Thor encourages me saying,

"For the lady warrior you have earned your try." against my better judgement I stand up and head on over to try and lift the hammer.

"You do realize we're all trying to lift an otherworldly tool used to create lightning right?" I wonder making everyone chuckle and smile before adding,

"Well this should be interesting then." and putting my hand through the strap get a good grip on the handle. I don't even bother to think twice as I lift my arms but not the hammer. Only something on Thor's face has me think otherwise. When I bow out Steve claps me on the shoulder while I take my seat again while Tony goes on about how the thing is rigged. It's only when Steve agrees that I put a hand to my heart and say,

"Stevie you said a bad word! Go straight to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect 200!"

"Did they have that game back in the 1940's?" Clint asks making me glare at him as Thor lifts the hammer as if it's a toy telling us simply,

"I have a rather simpler explanation, you're all not worthy." a second later the most annoying loud noise causes us all to flinch as I notice something twitching in the shadows. Instantly my mind kicks into action working on figuring out the threat as we all hear,

"Worthy? No, how could you be—you're all killers." as the group of us turn to see what's already caught my total attention, they discover a shredded looking robot twitching as it tries to walk. As the robot talks as if trying to figure out what it's even doing, I slowly move for my boot in which I always have a dagger in both of my shoes. Old habits die hard.

"Had to kill the other guy, he was a good guy." the fragmented robot says so that it's Steve who asks,

"You killed someone?"

"Wasn't my first call but down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices." the robot says simply while I slowly reach for my other dagger, mentally analyzing the robot before me. Locating weak points, areas of vulnerability and which wires to cut. I don't even hear anyone else talking until I see the wall behind the robot burst and every one of Tony's legionary robots come flying at us. The first robot that comes anywhere near myself has already got my dagger in its neck which with a swift flick cuts at least three wires inside. Between Steve kicking a table, Maria firing from her gun, Clint flying off somewhere and Thor smashing a robot with his hammer I easily slip back into Pale Shadow. The fighting is second nature to me—just like breathing or walking. As I flip-kick a robot towards Thor to smash I spy half of one hovering near the piano where Dr. Cho is hiding.

"Hey!" I shout getting the half robot to turn and be met with my dagger in between where his eyes should be. Not even waiting another second I take my other dagger and slice through the neck watching it drop to the ground. As I get my dagger out of the robot's head something comes flying at me leaving me with no room to run. I go flying back into a wall and hear the crunching of it behind my back. Slumping onto the ground and shaking my head someone holds out a hand to me. Peering up to see Tony, I smirk and take his hand only to twist it behind his back—and throw a dagger into the oncoming robots shoulder. As sparks fly from the dagger in the things shoulder, I run forward dodging the blast it tries to fire at me. Dress be damned—I roundhouse kick the robot and when it starts flying grab it with my outstretched hand. With the dagger in its shoulder, I pull it out and then use it to slam into the robot's glowing center. Once it smashes into the ground I stand up slowly eyeing the lead robot in front of me.

"Well that was dramatic," it says while going off on a rant about how we, the Avengers, need to be extinguished. The last thing it does before Thor smashes it with his hammer is point at me and say in Russian—Cut off one head, two more shall take its place.


	23. Twenty One

**Hey-oh everyone! So I will be adding spoilers for Civil War since I plan to add it when I can. Again I'll try to put a warning in but if I don't—sorry! I'll be going a bit deeper into Hannah's past soon so yeah—enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty-One~

For a moment after the sheer chaos that had just happened everyone exchanged glances. Me on the other hand, I just kept staring at the broken fragments of the robot who had taunted me. Not only had the robot taunted me, but in Russian none the less with the HYDRA motto. From one side Steve walked over to put a steady hand on my shoulder which made me turn to see him.

"How did he know me?" I asked realizing that the others were heading to Tony's lab and leaving us by ourselves.

"What did he say?" Steve wondered making me glare at the heap of broken metal saying,

"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place." I didn't even need to see Steve to know he flinched upon hearing this. He knew as well as me that the taunt had been a warning—but why? By the time we arrived in the lab with the others Thor had gone to see if he could find the runaway robots. Both Natasha and I changed into something more practical, sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt for me anyway.

"All our work is gone, Ultron cleared out. He used the internet as an escape hatch." Bruce said typing frantically on the keyboard of a computer.

"He's been in everything from files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Natasha added making me clench my fists just imagining what this 'Ultron' robot had learned about me. While everyone else spoke I couldn't keep my mind off the fact that this robot had been able to recognize me then use a HYDRA phrase in Russian. Something wasn't right about that, something was very wrong and dangerous. By the time I snap out of my thoughts I see Tony has brought up the hologram I've learned by now was his computer AI—JARVIS. Only the once complete and glowing hologram was now shredded and in pieces. So that's what Ultron meant, he had killed JARVIS. There were so many fragments that had been the AI that I doubted even Tony knew what to do.

"JARVIS was the first line of defense, Ultron would have shut him down—it makes sense." Steve said with arms crossed over his chest but I shake my head saying,

"No—if he wanted JARVIS destroyed there wouldn't be any bit of the AI remaining. Everything would be gone not just pieces."

"Hannah's right guys this isn't strategy this is—rage." Bruce said since clearly his mind was running at top speed. Heavy footsteps alerted me to Thor's return who the moment the armor clad Thor appeared grabbed Tony by the neck. After Thor dropped Tony onto the ground he told us basically the robots were gone and had the Scepter.

"Wait so now we have to go hunt that thing down again?" I asked glaring at Tony and crossing my arms before adding,

"You built this thing yeah? So why is it trying to kill all of us?" then to my total shock Tony begins laughing—a lot. With everyone sharing a look of worry and confusion it's Thor who demands,

"You think this is funny?" only by now I've heard enough and turning to face Tony completely ask him,

"Why is this so funny? Is it an inside joke or did all of us miss how a robot who seems hell-bent on killing us could be funny?" just giving me an odd look Tony walks straight up to me saying with a bite to his voice,

"It's funny, it's a hoot that you don't get why we need this."

"You sound like HYDRA." I snarl leaning in to his face before pushing his shoulder as I storm away from him. Moving to stand by Steve and continue to glare at Tony, Tony actually tries to rationalize why creating a robot like this is actually a good thing. He brings up the Battle of New York, how they had tried to nuke the whole city before he sent the thing up into a wormhole from space.

"How are all of you planning on beating that?" Tony asks staring directly at Steve who's simply reply is,

"Together." looking up at the man who means so much more to me than just another Superhero, when Tony says,

"We'll lose." and to me it's as if he's only speaking to Steve so that wrapping my arm around Steve's tell the billionaire who had to learn to trust me,

"Then we'll all have to do that together too. I mean come on, if this Ultron is calling us out for a fight we have to be ready don't we? The world is a big place so we got to start making it smaller."

"And who are you again? When did you start giving orders?" Tony demands raising his voice as he throws his hands up as if in defeat as he rages,

"You were nothing but a puppet for a terrorist organization for what—a century? Didn't you and Tin Can kill dozens of people? And yet here you are trying to play superhero!" storming up into the man's face I don't hesitate to shout at him,

"And don't you think I hate that?! Having to learn to kill be second nature!? I have more blood on my hands than could possibly be washed away."

"Then why are you here and not with your boy toy?" Tony asks teasingly so that having heard enough kick him in the stomach sending him flying into the wall. Despite the others staring at me and Steve coming over to stop me, I manage to stomp my foot in between Tony's legs before hissing at him,

"You wouldn't know the first thing about damnation even if you died because of it." then I storm off out of the lab and head straight to the gym. Once down in the training/gym area I head straight to the practice range. With a Glock in hand I begin firing without hardly paying attention, the weight of the gun in my hands meaning nothing as I shoot. When out of ammo I blink to see each bullet had hit its mark—in the dummies forehead.

"Is that supposed to be Tony?" I hear Steve ask spying him leaning against a wall with a frown on his face. Putting the gun on safety and removing the cartridge I say simply,

"He doesn't know the first thing about true horror."

"And you think he has some vendetta against you?" he wonders making me slam the gun down back into its case and shout,

"He already does! Somehow he found footage of Wanda and me fighting in Sokovia." instantly Steve is at my side about to ask what the hell I meant. Glaring at the wall behind his shoulder I explain,

"More than once over the course of our time with HYDRA we were sent to babysit people high up on the food chain. Strucker was one of those men only he didn't have the Scepter the last time I saw him."

"But you were fighting the female Enhanced?" Steve wonders so that leaning against the wall with my head resting against it let the memory replay in my mind.

"Before Washington Bucky and I were sent to check on Strucker. He told us that he had volunteers willing to do the good of HYDRA and that he needed to figure out who would be the best candidates. Bucky fought the men while I took on the women. We were told not to kill them but to break them down enough until they either surrendered or begged to die. The last one of the women was Wanda—she was terrified and shaking. Her brother Pietro was forced to watch by Strucker since he knew they were twins. Pietro was locked in a chair while I was only able to kick her once until it was finally Strucker to do what I wouldn't, beat the living hell out of her. Only when she was sent to the Medical Ward did I manage to apologize to her." the silence hung in the air between us with Steve surly trying to wrap his head around this information. When I can't take the silence anymore I turn and leave him staring at my back—I don't want to see his expression. In my bedroom I collapse onto my bed and curl a pillow to my face—and scream. I continue screaming until I can't feel my throat anymore and then give into exhaustion. Sleep doesn't come easily of course, and just like every other night I see the things I've done relive in my mind. This time it's of Wanda and myself in a bared cage—she's bleeding from her nose and hardly able to breathe. Pietro is screaming somewhere behind me as Strucker continue to kick her in the chest with his steel toed boot. It's only when an extremely loud piercing noise cuts through my nightmare that I bolt upright ready to strike. Scanning my bedroom for the threat when I find nothing slowly my mind returns to being Hannah again. That alarm was created by Tony on Steve's request—a noise only I'd be able to detect which would wake me if I was having uncontrollable nightmares. Problem is—only JARVIS could access the alarm—and he's 'dead'. I'm about to say something when there's a knock on my bedroom door before it opens to reveal Natasha. Giving me a small smile, she comes over with a cup of steaming hot coco—something that she's discovered I treasure from my past. Handing it to me, she sits on the edge of my nightstand saying,

"Strucker's dead, he was killed by Ultron." I only nod and continue to drink as she continues,

"The rest of us are heading to a salvage yard in Africa, we got a lead that someone named Ulysses Klaue knew Strucker. That's where he's located right now—we have some answers for him."

"Yeah I bet you do, Klaue would bring in shipments for Strucker." I told her having finished my drink so that when she went to ask me all I told her was,

"What do you think comes out of Wakanda?"


	24. Twenty Two

**Ello! So there's a few SPOLIERS in this chapter. I'll put a (!) where the spoiler begins and ends ok? Also I had this idea that Wanda and Ace would get along after the dusts settles in AoU. This leads up to the start of that. Another thing is that I had this thought that Bucky and Ace would have been set to babysit Strucker—it makes sense to me since he was a high up person on the HYDRA food chain. One more thing, I have a plan that Ultron will be interesting in Ace—you'll have to wait and see why!**

Chapter Twenty-Two~ **HYDRA Research Facility—Sokovia**

Wanda sat atop the roof of the HYDRA building that had become home for her and her brother. She still couldn't believe that Shadow had appeared seemingly out of the blue and that she was working for the Avengers. Ultron hadn't been willing to tell them any more than she was a part of their team, someone to eliminate. However what she had said about the Second World War and brainwashing had Wanda wanting answers. So she had spent a few hours looking for anything about Shadow before finding a video. **(!)** It showed her sitting in a wicked looking chair that sparked with electricity and her being forced into it. She was struggling unable to give up without a fight before someone punched her in the face. The moment she went limp they locked her into the chair and began shocking her with the current running through her brain. Wanda was about to turn it off but as soon as the torture started it ended. Then someone began saying words, ten in total which by the last word she sat up with a glossy look in her eyes.

"Ready to comply." was all she said before the footage cut out. **(!)** Now as she stares up at the stars Wanda can't help but think she was telling the truth. It hadn't been Shadow to beat her within an inch of her life, it had been Strucker. Of course Pietro had to watch strapped to a chair but he wasn't able to do anything. That had been made sure of by the Winter Soldier who never revealed himself as much as Pale Shadow had. Even though the two were partners it was Shadow who had the most contact with the twins. She had even apologized to Wanda after the fight had ended.

"What are you doing up here?" Wanda heard her brother's voice call turning to see him standing behind her. Exhaling and saying nothing, Wanda felt him sit next to her and say,

"We have to do this, we owe it to our parents to destroy the man who killed them."

"Perhaps Shadow was telling the truth Pietro." she said to him making the man scoff as she turned to glare at him.

"She wasn't the one to beat me it was Strucker." that was the moment Pietro had promised to protect Wanda without a question. Despite his anger towards Shadow, Pietro had a soft spot for her—even now that spot was still there. Yes she hadn't stopped Strucker from beating Wanda yet before then Shadow had often snuck extra food for them, a book for Wanda and a small ball for him to bounce. She hardly said anything but when she did her words were laced with seemingly years of understanding.

"She could have stopped it if she wanted." was his reply simply so that Wanda slapped him saying hotly,

"While Strucker was there with her? It was hard enough for her to not hurt me, imagine how it must have been to just watch."

"She should have stopped it then!" Pietro shouted only Wanda fumed telling her brother,

"I know you care about her Pietro so don't lie to me. She always was the kindest person here whenever she visited. You were able to make her smile past her façade, you made her mind lighter and in return she helped us where ever she could."

"How do you know that?" Pietro gasped moving to take her arm but she shook him off and stood up saying with a wave of her arms,

"I'm your twin! I can read minds and warp them to do whatever I tell them. I can see their fears and horrors—make them come true. Yet Shadow she—her mind was always black Pietro. You gave her mind color when she had none." standing up to grab both of her shoulders, Pietro shook her gently telling her,

"She means nothing to me."

"Stop lying!" Wanda shouted at him so that he shouted right on back,

"It doesn't matter!" so shoving his chest hard and making him stumble a bit backwards, Wanda started to leave.

"What will you do next when you see her? Will you kill her without question—or will you see reason." Wanda asked turning to see him as he replied,

"If she gets in-between our goal then she'll need to be removed." Wanda disappeared into the building then before going where the two had made a make-shift bedroom. On the way Wanda overheard Ultron talking to several of his clones.

"The mission is clear, get the Vibranium and return here. If the Avenger brats cause problems knock them out without question. And that white haired one—I want to talk to her." at this Wanda frowned trying to think of why this robot would want to speak to Shadow.

"Did you know her real name was Hannah?" his voice said cutting through her thoughts and making Wanda flinch slightly. Standing there with arms crossed over his metal chest, Ultron just stared at her as he continued,

"Born December 16th 1917 in Brooklyn New York City, name on her birth certificate was Hannah Cohen. She was listed on the records of the Super Soldier Project as 'Ace' Cohen alongside Steven Grant Rogers. Was marked as MIA in 1945 when she and James Buchanan Barnes died on a mission in the Austrian Alps. She along with Barnes survived and then worked for HYDRA—for over a century."

"So she was telling the truth." Wanda gasped making Ultron storm over to her and threatened,

"Don't make me second guess picking you to help this mission my dear."

"No—no I would never." Wanda said firmly making up her mind right then and there. Giving the robot a curt nod and turning to leave, Wanda knew what she'd have to do. Somehow she'd have to find a way to talk to Shadow—or Hannah—and learn the truth. Something wasn't right about everything going on. Of course she was glad Strucker was dead but he only died because of Ultron, who appeared only after the Avengers broke into the base. Hannah—or Shadow had seem expressionless but Wanda had seen the pain in her eyes. The same pain she saw in her own reflection nearly every day since she arrived at the base.

"Whatever are we going to do Pietro?" Wanda asked the silent room before falling asleep.


	25. Twenty Three

**Let me first say that I NEVER expected this story to be as popular as it is. It blows my mind away to see that 109 people have favorited this and 150 are following. I can't thank you all enough for making my days knowing people enjoy this. As you guys know that until Civil War comes out on DVD I won't be able to add it to this. So until then when this part ends everyone will just have to wait ;)**

Chapter Twenty-Three~

Just before the team leaves for where they've hunted Klaue down to I appear geared up and ready to go. Wearing black cargo pants, a black Kevlar shirt with matching bullet proof vest, I've pulled my hair into a side braid and outlined my eyes with liner. On my belt I have a small bag of round explosives, two hand guns on either side with extra ammo, four daggers strapped in and a small Taser. I also have two guns strapped to my back and ammo for them, along with a small patch that I've made. It's of a crimson red star inside a blue circle—with a golden letter A. Arriving to the jet bay where the others are boarding the jet, I throw the suit Tony had made me at his feet saying,

"I'm not letting another person use me as a puppet." as Tony stares down at the broken, torn, crunched and ripped apart suit I step into the jet ready to go. I say nothing as we fly to the location so that once we land by the tree line away from the salvage yard stand.

"Ace you're with Nat and Clint on this one." Steve tells me but I shake my head saying,

"No, the Twins will be wanting to see me. I have a meeting with them."

"Oh I bet you do." Tony snaps storming past me so that flipping him off behind his back follow everyone out. While Bruce stays behind until a 'Code Green' its Natasha and Clint who sneak into the ship to wait while Thor, Tony and Steve confront Ultron. My job was to draw out the twins in order to make everyone's job easier. Once in the ship I slip into the darkest shadows and start my hunt, a beast looking for prey. As I listen to Tony, Thor and Steve talking to Ultron I spy the two Maximoff's standing beside the giant robot.

"Ah, Captain America. God's righteous man pretending to live without a war. Where's your little friend then hmm? Or should I say one of HYDRA's best?" I hear Ultron mock as I target Pietro with a knock-out dart, aiming right for his neck. As I was lining up the shot I heard Tony asking,

"What's the Vibranium for?" making me lower my gun just a bit thinking back to Bucky—and his metal arm. Next thing I know Tony is flying at Ultron and as the two go flying and blasting at one another with Thor and Steve fighting off robots. Knowing I was unable to get a shot at Pietro since he's turned into a human lightning bolt, I instead aim at Wanda who's firing a blast of red energy at Steve. The tranquilizer dart missed however when she blasted it and turned to see who had shot at her. She must have seen me because she moved to climb the stairs towards me. With gunfire erupting all around us from Klaue men I sank back into the shadows to cover Natasha fighting off four men. While Steve and Thor took care of the robots below, Natasha with Clint and I took out the men firing at us. Tony was busy fighting Ultron blow for blow while Pietro sped around the place. When I couldn't locate Wanda anymore in my ear I heard Bruce asking if it was a 'Code Green'.

"Don't you dare get out of that jet!" I shouted tossing a dagger into the neck of a henchman before grabbing it from his throat. Standing up I spy Pietro lying in a pile of containers and meet his gaze. Biting my tongue as I turn to flee, he catches up to me and throws me into a wall. Realizing he isn't about to let me go, I began swinging the dagger to try and hit him. As he backs away it's clear he isn't even trying so that finally I grow frustrated and just kick him as hard as I could. With him flying into a wall I take the chance to leap from box to box before reaching a railing and swing myself upwards. Landing on the platform I hear Thor saying something about Wanda trying to warp his mind and frown. That's my new mission—take out Wanda before she does any damage. From down below me I watch Steve go crashing into a stairwell before Wanda waves her hand sending red energy into his head.

"Steve!" I shout taking a jump over the ledge and crouch next to him to check if he's ok. With his eyes closed he twists trying to escape some invisible ties as I slap his cheek.

"Wake up damn it!" I shout only for cold hands to grab me causing me to shriek. Being lifted up into the air I turn to see it's one of Ultron's bots. With red eyes it tells me,

"We're going to have a little chat."

"Like hell we are!" I snarl jamming a dagger into the chest and slicing through all the way into the back. Dropping me like dead weight I'm caught by a pair of arms belonging to Clint. Staring up at him while he sets me down I tell him,

"Steve's out cold."

"So are Thor and Nat, that girl got into their heads. Plus I don't know about Tony or Bruce." he tells me so that having a horrid thought tell him as I run for the exit,

"Get to Steve and the others! I have to get to Bruce!" nodding to me I watch him run off as I bolt out a side door. Far up ahead I can see two figures with one of them sitting on the ground holding their head. Slowing down as I got closer Pietro stands ready to fight only Wanda grabs his arm to stop him. Slowly raising my hands into the air to show that I mean no harm I stop as the silvery haired man shouts,

"You hurt Wanda!"

"It's called self-defense Pietro." I snap watching him try to move only Wanda won't let him go. Just before I can say anything two metal arms grab me and hold my arms at my sides. Metal fingers dig into my skin enough to draw blood as I cry out in pain.

"That's it, scream in agony—feel the same pain you cause!" Ultron's voice taunts behind me as I shout,

"Pain is weakness!"

"Exactly." he says putting something on my temple making me scream as electric shocks fill my body. Gasping for air as if I'm drowning I hear someone speaking in Russian and squeeze my eyes shut.

"Stop it!" I beg twisting to get free as the grip tightens and he continues drawing out each word. Opening my eyes to look at Pietro and Wanda I whimper as I can feel Pale Shadow literally clawing out of my mind. Suddenly I'm being dropped onto the sand and curling into myself as Pietro crushes the robot into the ground. Twitching slightly and whimpering, I watch him standing over me with something akin to pity in his eyes.

"Pity means nothing it's only something that makes you weak." I say watching recognition fill his face—because I've said this to him and Wanda before. With a swift punch to my face I grow limp and stare up at the sky hardly able to breathe. Pietro's face appears next to me as he says,

"If I cannot feel pity for you, then compassion will have to do." before he kisses my bruised cheek and vanishes with Wanda towards the jet. Squeezing my eyes tight as Pale Shadow demands to be let free, I force myself into a kneeling position with hands holding me upright. Looking ahead I hear the Hulk roar and bound towards the nearby city.

"Natasha I could really use a lullaby." Tony says in my ear only Clint tells him the whole team is down with no chance at backup. Struggling to stand upright I look down to see my bracelet and whimper out,

"Bucky—" before finally I snap out of my trance like state when I see a flash of a memory; Bucky, Steve and I at the Worlds Faire. The warmth in my chest makes me smile and causes Pale Shadow to vanish but not before I realize—those words still hold an amazing amount of power over me. What if Ultron had finished those words and where the Hell did he learn them?! Unable to stand the questions anymore I head on back to the ship to find Clint helping Natasha while Thor and Steve walk like zombies. Rushing over to Steve's side, I put an arm under his and help him stand upright.

"Steve come on snap out of it!" I tell him only he mumbles,

"Peggy." which causes me to frown and bite my lower lip. Oh Heaven's he still cares about her so deeply! When Clint and I finish helping everyone into the jet to rest something grabs me and sends me flying backwards. I hear Clint shouting my name as something grabs me and drops me hard onto the ground. Coughing and spitting out blood I spy the robot from before kneeling and saying,

"It's amazing what the mind remembers isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" I hiss spitting some blood onto the metal making the robotic face look even more inhuman.

"Your mind has been so well programed that one good push sends you off the cliff again." it tells me touching my temple before continuing,

"That shocker was designed by HYDRA to weaken someone's mental capacity. In reality I don't know those words which tip you off that cliff. Your mind remembers them—all I had to do was open that door again." staring at him in horror I realize that if what he's saying is true—then at any moment I might snap and return to the mindset of Pale Shadow.

"You were broken, beaten and destroyed but HYDRA put you together. Literally and mentally, oh yes I know about your Vibranium implants. Those medical files are a rather interesting read. You would have died without those plates put into your spine. They're the very reason you're alive right now my dear—you owe your life to HYDRA."

"Shut up!" I shout jamming my last dagger into its neck so that as it crumples onto the ground I taunts me with,

"Just wait my dear—" before whatever it was going to say next cuts off into garbled noise. Staring at the robot in fear I now know two things; my mind will never be my own because HYDRA still owns it. I may be Hannah 'Ace' Cohen but Pale Shadow is still very much alive to torment my life.


	26. Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty-Four~

The ride in the Quinjet is silent other than Tony speaking to Maria who, in all honesty, doesn't have to sugar coat what has happened. Bruce isn't going to be arrested—yet—and the rest of the team are lost in their heads. Only Tony, Clint and I manage to hold ourselves together—with me barely hanging on. Clint flies through the night as if on auto-pilot while I hand out water bottles to the others. Taking a seat next to Steve and hugging his arm while putting my head on his shoulder I hear him ask,

"What would it have been like?" looking up at him as he stares ahead he continues,

"To return after the war with us winning? The celebrations and everyone rejoicing and people finally reunited. What would our lives be if that happened?"

"That would have been different I know, but we can't change the past Steve." I say hugging his arm tighter and add,

"We can only do what we can to help the future." turning to see me with sad eyes Steve says,

"What kind of future is there for the three of us?" I know he means all of us as I squeeze his hand tight enough to make it white.

"We'll never know Steve and that's what keeps us up at night. I know you have nightmares so don't lie to Me." at this he gives a tiny smile as I cup his cheek to say,

"Please don't live in the past Punk. I'd do anything to see you happy again." hearing this Steve gives me a kiss on my bruised cheek before saying,

"You're too good to me." lying my head on his shoulder I must have fallen asleep because I wake up with Tony shaking my shoulder gently. Steve is missing but I'm covered in a thin blanket making me know he had been here.

"Come on kid time to go." Tony says as I stand up and stretch before following him out to see—a farm house? Walking up to the charming two story house and onto the porch, I look around and smile as the simple comfort of 'home' settles into my mind. Upon entering the team is greeted with a very pregnant woman who turns out to be Clint's wife—wait what? Next to appear are two children, a boy and girl who leap on Clint before the young girl asks about Natasha. Lifting the young girl into her arms, Natasha laughs and smiles while Clint explains that this was Fury's doing. Literally hiding his family under the radar and several layers further down. Seeing Thor storm out of the house it's Steve who follows him while I feel something tug on my hand. Looking down I see it's the young girl who asks,

"Are you Ace?" peering up at the others I give her a grin as I bend down to see her and say,

"At your service." the grin on the girls face is priceless as she bounces on her heels saying,

"I learned about you at school! You're Captain America's friend right?" smiling at her enthusiasm, when I nod she takes my hand and pulls me to follow her. Glancing at her mom who just nods as she all but drags me into the other room I see that she has a set of Barbie's. What catches my eye though is the one with white hair which she explains,

"I couldn't find one so I painted her hair to be like yours. And I made this!" as she sits on the ground she pulls out of a shoebox a purple cloth handmade cape which she puts on the doll. On the back of the cape is a silver 'A' which makes my eyes water. Showing the doll proudly to me, the girl—Lila—she asks me to play 'Bad guys and Heroes' which I can't deny. Sitting on the ground with her, I'm just happy to see the girls smile as she plays with her favorite 'superhero'. After a while I glance up to see her mother—Laura—who says to Lila,

"Let Hannah here have some time to rest ok?" groaning but nodding, I stand and follow Laura into the kitchen. As she continued to cook dinner to feed the team she tells me,

"You're her idol you know. The first female superhero she learned about in school none the less."

"I'm no superhero." I mumble as I help her chop some vegetables but she tells me sternly,

"Your past isn't what makes you who you are now. You can't let it define you."

"But it's who I was! Who I was made and forced to be! If you knew half the things I did you wouldn't let me anywhere near your daughter!" I hissed moving to storm outside pausing when she says,

"I may not know everything nor do I want to. But you've been given a second chance—and it's probably your last one." her words cut deep, far too deep into my mind as I storm outside where the sun is starting to set. I take a seat on the porch thinking over everything that has happened; Ultron saying my mind was still apart of HYDRA, Steve wanting to 'go home' and now the knowledge that I really do have one last chance. The Avengers are my last chance at something akin to 'normal' after my decade of death and destruction. Hell I can still hear the screams at night, the begging and sobbing for mercy, the blood that's always on my hands. Hearing footsteps cause me to turn and see Natasha walking over and taking a seat next to me.

"So um—what happened with you and the twins?" she asks me gently not looking at me but totally focused on what I would say. Sighing deeply and running a hand through my messy hair I tell her,

"I did know them Nat, a long time ago. They remember me as someone different, a killer and a cold hearted bitch." shaking my head I turn to look at her and say,

"You told me once that I was given a second chance, that I should be grateful for it." searching my face for a moment she blinks saying,

"You think you don't deserve it."

"I know I don't," I begin standing up and walking away a few paces before turning back to her and waved at the house.

"That girl in there thinks I'm a superhero, one of the 'good guys' fighting the bad guys and monsters. Laura knows who I am and though not with every detail lets me play with her daughter! Bucky and I spent years tearing down and destroying everything we were told to do. Just because I'm not Pale Shadow anymore doesn't mean I'm Hannah Cohen either." Natasha stands up and walking over to me takes both of my shoulders and says,

"You listen ok? You may not be who you were before the accident and you may not be who you were with HYDRA. But whatever you do with who you are now is the most important." looking down at my feet I watch Natasha step back only to say,

"There's been some chatter about Bucky," which of course has my head fly up to meet her gaze.

"Governments still want him for the crimes he's done. Only reason you're not as high on the list is—"

"Is because I'm working with you guys." I finish for her so that when she nods I head on back to enter the house saying as I pass her,

"Maybe they're right." as I enter the house again I see that everyone is pitching in to help get dinner ready. The extra guest however is one Nick Fury in the flesh who turns upon me entering and just nods. It's only after we all eat and chat lightly about 'happier' moments that we get down to business.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time," Fury starts as the group is spread out with me, as always, near Steve. He's my rock through all of this—and he knows I'm here for him as always.

"My contacts all say he's building something. With the amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think he's building just one thing." as Fury talks I smile while Lila runs over to show me a watercolor she's done.

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asks which Fury explains he's everywhere and anywhere only no one could figure out his plan. After explaining to us that Ultron is still after nuclear launch codes and that someone is changing them before he can get to them I ask,

"So we have an ally?"

"Ultron has an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still I'd pay money to find out who it is." Fury corrects and with that Tony saying he'll go to Oslo where something called 'Nexus' is located. I sit staring off into space while Fury talks only I'm not listening. Something about the fact Ultron has Vibranium to build some weapon has me not only worried, but worried about what it could mean for all of us.

"So what does he want?" that snaps me out of my thinking as I add,

"To become better than all of us. Create better bodies of himself to use." as the team stares at me it's Bruce who's looking at Lila's painting of a butterfly.

"They don't need to become better they need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve." he mumbles only when Fury asks how I slowly stand saying,

"That machine—has anyone heard from Helen recently?" at that the team gathers to leave, Lauran hands me something—the purple cape Lila made with the 'A' on it.


	27. Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty-Five~

Believe it or not the flight from Clint's farm to South Korea is faster than one might think. With the Quinjet at top speed and a short amount of sleep Steve, Clint, Natasha and I fly over the city. Clint and Natasha would stay behind in the jet while Steve and I find Dr. Cho. Once geared up and ready to go the jet drops us off and I follow a running Steve. It's only when we're halfway to the research center Dr. Cho works at that I pause.

"What is it?" Steve asks so that looking at him I say,

"Wanda didn't want Pietro to fight me, she kept holding him from doing that."

"So?" Steve demands clearly annoyed at me taking a moment to talk only I snap at him,

"You go find Dr. Cho." and then turning to leave the other way I hear Steve shout,

"What about you!?" only I leap off the side of the building from roof to the ground, leaving a small indent. As I sprint through the city to where I think the twins might be I hear chatter in my ear; something about a gem, private jet leaving across town and how there's three people in a truck belonging to the center.

"Ace I could use some help!" I hear Steve shout only taking a moment to breathe tell him,

"Don't worry, you'll get it." before running off again, weaving between people and pushing myself to top speed. Suddenly I slow down when I catch sight of a silvery haired figure and turning sharply stop in my tracks in front of Wanda and Pietro. They look somewhat surprised to see me yet it's Wanda who says,

"Ultron he's,"

"I know but now's not the time, we have to help the others." I tell her so that glancing over at Pietro I see pain in his eyes and give him a weak smile.

"We didn't know what he was planning." he says trying to ease the tension between us so that shrugging I say,

"That's a discussion for another time but now we have to get going. You don't fight against the Avengers—you fight with them." glancing at one another, the twins nod so that Pietro comes over with Wanda on his back. Lifting me into his arms he smirks down at me saying,

"Hold on." before he dashes like lightning through the streets. As he runs I use my communicator as a sort of tracker, locating the others with the radio frequency. Upon spying a speeding subway car and two fighting figures inside I go to tell Pietro only he's already speeding up alongside it. The moment we step into the subway car Pietro is speeding at Ultron with Wanda using her powers to create a sort of barrier between the robot and us. When Ultron turns to see Wanda and me, I've got my shock bullets loaded as he says,

"Please don't do this."

"What choice do we have?" Wanda demands as I fire a bullet at him hitting his arm yet he rips it off like a bug and throws it out the window. The second he fires at the front of the train I fire three more bullets hitting him twice in the side and once in the leg. However he's flying out of the now runaway subway leaving Steve and myself with Pietro and Wanda. As Steve shouts at Clint and runs to the front of the train I turn to see the twins and give a small smile.

"Civilians in our path." I hear Steve shout as I turn to him just in time for Pietro to sprint out of the train. Turning to the other twin Steve asks Wanda,

"Can you stop this thing?"

"Of course she can." I say giving her an encouraging smile so that returning it she blasts her energy down under the train. As it jolts and struggles forward Steve helps block flying debris while I shout at everyone to take cover. It feels like ages before the train finally comes to a stop with Wanda looking exhausted. Nodding to her Steve tries to get up and out off the train probably to find Pietro.

"You ok Punk?" I asks as he groans slowly standing with me pulling him upright. He sways a bit before replying,

"I hate trains."

"More than the Cyclone?" I tease as the two of us climb out of the train to find the twins and see the two of them talking to one another.

"The Cradle, did you get it?" Wanda asks so that Steve tells her,

"Stark will take care of it." only upon seeing Wanda's fearful eyes she explains that Tony would do whatever it took to make things right. Even with Steve saying she was wrong, from the look on Wanda's face I knew she was telling the truth. That Tony would do anything to fix the wrongs he's created. As Steve tries to get ahold of someone, anyone on the communicator, I watch as Pietro comes over asking me,

"Why did you come to find us?" and punching his shoulder I tell him,

"Because I trust you, just because you made a bad decision doesn't make you the bad guys." the look of surprise on his face is enough to make me grin as Steve shouts to me,

"We're leaving Hannah."

"Wait—he said that." Wanda says suddenly making the three of us turn to her while she says,

"Ultron he—he said your name was Hannah—from World War Two. He was right wasn't he?" glancing at Steve before giving a curt nod Wanda puts a hand to her head looking faint as Steve pulls me along to leave. Only I shake out of his hold and going over to Wanda tell her,

"We can have girl talk later ok? We need to find a ride."

"Ultron had a private jet ready to go at the airfield." Pietro says looking at Steve so that as the two size each other up, Steve exhales and says to the twins,

"Show us where." so that after 'borrowing' a truck the four of us drive to where Wanda directs us to the airfield.

"Where did Captain America learn to steal a car?" Pietro asks so that rolling my eyes I say,

"I had to teach him in Nazi Germany."

"No you taught me in Brooklyn New York, I stole the car in Germany." Steve counters smiling at me as the four of us arrive at the airfield to board the jet. With Steve piloting that allows me to sit with the twins. I watch them share some sort of private conversation before Pietro takes my hand into his.

"Listen Shadow if we had known," he begins only I cut him off with,

"You never could have, Ultron is a robot. Wanda wouldn't have been able to read his mind and neither of you could get the truth out of him."

"But he was right about you Hannah, he had found a file on you." Wanda tells me so that I shrug while Pietro rubs his thumb on my knuckles. I hardly pay attention until he asks,

"Where'd you get the bracelet?" and so seeing his gaze on my bracelet I smile brightly and say,

"Bucky." we hear Steve saying we'd be landing in five minutes so that after I gear up to get ready to go. Wanda and Pietro are in defense mode and who wouldn't after having fought the Avengers? When we land Steve stays with the twins, something he's not happy about, while I go on ahead. Splitting up means a better chance at stopping Tony from—whatever he's doing. By the time I reach the laboratory in the Tower, I find Bruce and Tony working on the Cradle.

"You got to be kidding me." I mutter making them look up and for Tony to begin,

"Welcome back Spade—"

"No shut the hell up Tony you don't get to talk!" I snap throwing a shock ball at the Cradle only Bruce actually kicks it away. Staring at him in amazement Steve appears with the twins demanding the two to shut the Cradle off. As the group argue it's Pietro who speeding around the Cradle pulls out every cord and wire.

"No go on, you were saying?" I actually watch as the team starts fighting one another. Between Pietro falling under broken glass, Bruce fighting Wanda and Tony fighting Steve—I've had enough and so pick up my shock ball and throw it at the machine. As it sparks and begins to fry the last person I expect to appear is Thor. He doesn't even blink before charging his hammer while the group of us, no longer fighting when he shows up, start shouting at him. Only he doesn't stop until he forces the energy he's drawn into the Cradle. The moment he stops the Cradle shatters and he goes flying, leaving behind a humanoid figure staring at all of us—before it goes flying at Thor. Sending the humanoid figure flying towards the wall size windows, I join everyone as we hesitantly approach the figure hovering in the air. What the hell was going on?! And why did I have the feeling that when it looked at me—it knew me.


	28. Twenty Six

**Saw Civil War and AHHHH! Feelings and emotions and heartache oh my! Believe it or not while watching the movie I kept wondering where Ace was or what she'd do or be doing. Yeah she's strong with this one. The end of Civil War gave me a wonderfully horrible idea that I'm still on the fence about using. So stay tuned! As it is this is coming to the end of AoU so ya'll have to wait for Civil War to come out on DVD or something before I continue. No more talking! Enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty-Six~

As the humanoid figure slowly drifted down from its place by the windows, it glanced over at Thor saying to him,

"I'm sorry that was—odd. Thank you." as it spoke I realized it sounded a lot like JARVIS, almost exactly like the computer Tony had built.

"Thor, you helped create this?" Steve demands so that as Thor explains everything from visions of destruction to how the gem in the humanoids forehead, the Mind Stone, could destroy the whole world. Of course the team shifts uneasily hearing this as Thor apparently agrees with Tony about us unable to defeat Ultron. Only after Steve wants to know why the humanoid sounds like JARVIS do I speak up saying,

"When I had my nightmare—you woke me up." at this everyone turned to me confused as I continued,

"Tony put in an alarm that only I would hear which would set off when I was having a nightmare. That night when I had one—you woke me up."

"I don't get it JARVIS was broken." Steve says in confusion but the humanoid figure explains,

"Not broken just—lost. Mr. Stark put my protocols and data back together to create this form. Yet something kept a piece of my data here at the Tower. I believe that since Hannah here was in such unappalled torment that that is what set off the alarm. Her agony was real enough to jolt that system into functioning."

"Ok I've had my fill of 'new'." Steve says coming over to stand protectively next to me as the now golden cape wearing figure asks,

"You think I am a child of Ultron?" when Steve makes it clear that he doesn't trust the figure he tries to make us understand.

"I'm not Ultron nor am I JARVIS I just—am." his words hit a place inside me as the team begins to argue some more. Finally I had enough and snap,

"Stop it! If this guy was a part of Ultron he would have let me suffer, let me drown in my own mind. He isn't going to destroy anything or anyone—he's a good guy." as some of the team look at me the figure says simply,

"I am on the side of life, Ultron isn't. He will end it all." it was easy to figure out that Ultron wanted all of us but where—Sokovia. Clint says that Ultron had apparently brought Natasha there also while we were in South Korea. To my surprise it's Bruce who steps up asking the figure about what would happen if 'it' was indeed a product of Ultron.

"I don't want to kill Ultron, he is unique and he is in pain. But that pain will roll over the earth so he must be destroyed. Every form he's built and every trace of him on the net. We have to act now and not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster, I don't think I'd even know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me, but we need to go." watching him lift Thor's hammer as if it was weightless the entire team just stares as Thor takes it and the figure walks away calmly.

"Three minutes, get what you need." Steve says so that as everyone leaves to prepare I go over and find the figure out on the balcony. Stopping next to him and staring out at the cityscape I hear him say,

"You are unique in your flaws." turning to glare at him the figure bows his head saying,

"I mean that with no disrespect. You have seen so much for someone so young; the shift of countries, change in governments, wars and battles and true—helped in some of those events. You were used for such horrible intentions and crimes when your heart was just empty—and alone. Sargent Barnes was that person to fill the void even while with HYDRA. He understood and still does know of your pain." scoffing as I take out the small handmade purple cape Laura had given me, I say simply,

"I don't deserve every breath I take because I feel like I'm stealing it from someone I killed. Some people say I'm a superhero while others want me locked away for eternity."

"What do you think is right?" the figure next to me asks so that fiddling with the bracelet Bucky gave me I say honestly,

"My life isn't worth anything."

"That is where you are wrong," the figure says taking my shoulders gently and turning me to see his blueish computer type eyes says,

"Strength comes in many forms Hannah. Some see it in muscles and brawn others in mind and wit. Some see strength as something to learn while others believe it is taught. From what I've seen and know of you it is not what brains or brawn you have—it's how you've earned and used them. Your past has been so violet and yet you manage to find ways to smile. You've been tormented by nightmares yet are able to wake up the next day and laugh. You wish to end it—" at this he waves a hand out over the balcony saying what thought and fear I've never been able to say to anyone let alone thing of saying it to anyone.

"Yet here you are about to stop the world from being destroyed. Fate works in mysterious ways even I must admit to that. But what is and shall always be true is this, if you cannot believe in yourself then you give no one any reason to. You may think that there is no spark of believe within yet everyone, every human being, has at least one spark of believe inside. Remove it and you have absolutely nothing left but keep it, have it grow and build, and you can touch the stars. In your case Hannah you don't touch stars—you touch hearts." putting a finger to my shoulder just above my heart the figure nods before stepping back to allow me to get ready. His words have the most amazing effect on me; I go to the closet where the very last version of my armor is and put it on. With enough ammo, guns and explosives to just about weigh me down I walk over to the team getting into the Quinjet. Just smirking at the team, I stand near Steve as he gives a small speech.

"Ultron thinks we're monsters, that we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't about just beating him, it's about whether he's right." the second we land we split up with Thor and Bruce to find Natasha. Steve, Clint, Pietro and Wanda start the evacuation while Tony flies off to find Ultron. Meanwhile I fly overhead signaling to the others where the weak locations are, where to lead people to escape and make sure there are no bots. Suddenly I get a hit on my scanner as a new voice, FRIDAY, tells me,

"I'm detecting a large power source under the church."

"That's where Tony is right?" I ask flying towards the building just as I hear hundreds of bots starting to appear sending people into a frenzy. As the bots either fly overhead or run through the streets I pick off everyone I can without hesitation. Up ahead I see the gold cape wearing figure flying for the church and speed off just in time to see him collapse onto the ground.

"Hey!" I shout lowering my helmet to glare at the much larger Ultron whose hand hesitates over a wicked looking spiral. Turning to see me the robot seems to actually smile which is the creepiest thing ever.

"What do you remember this time then?" he asks me tauntingly as he waves his free hand to the spiral adding,

"This is how you all end."

"No—this is how you end!" I shout throwing a large electric disk at his chest making him spark and jolt. Flying over towards me with death in his vermillion eyes, I blast him with a blaster gun and send him flying backwards towards the wall of the church. I'm about to blast him again when something stabs me in the back sending me crumbling to my knees. Turning to find a large chunk of metal in the shoulder of my suit, I turn back to see Ultron has started whatever horrible machine he's been building. As I feel the ground under me literally begin to move Ultron storms over and grabs me by my hair.

"Death is inevitable my dear—you know that extremely well." putting his metal hand to my neck and squeezing he taunts,

"Go join your Bucky in a wintery hell." just before my vision turns black I stab him in the joint of his hand with a dagger. Feeling electricity jolt through me while Ultron drops me hard onto the ground, I roll onto my back and cough up blood. As I cough and spilt out the metallic taste I spy Mr. Golden Cape slowly sitting up. The second he sees me the figure comes over to check on me.

"Your suit has sustained damages." he tells me only I scoff and grabbing his shoulder tell him,

"As long as I can breathe, get out of my way." and shedding my suit and grabbing my gear I turn to see him and say,

"We have a mission to complete." at this he nods and I run out of the church to go help the others. As I run I spy Wanda trying to hold her own and fire several rounds into the robots overhead.

"Stark you just worry about bringing this thing down. The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt them back you get killed—walk it off." Steve says in my ear and I turn to see Wanda and nod. Sharing a tiny smile, I use her energy shield as protection as I fire bullets into the overhead robots. Suddenly Clint appears and sends Wanda flying into a building while I just stand there.


	29. Twenty Seven

**Ok ladies and gents, last chapter of this story until Civil War becomes available. I just wanna say how amazed and delighted that this story got such positive responses. I seriously have loved every review, follow and favorite and can't wait to write more. My fingers are itching to write more but doubt I will until I get the Civil War DVD and or inspiration. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to CJ/OddBall I have to be honest when I say your reviews are some of my favorite! Enjoy all!**

Chapter Twenty-Seven~

It seems longer than it really is before the flying city is making its way into the clouds. For the moment the wave of robots has stopped leaving the team to get everyone inside for cover. When I find Steve he's with Natasha who just smiles. When we hear Tony explain that there seems to be only two ways to stop this thing. Of course Steve argues with him that no one on this rock is going to make it off safely, including us.

"Cap these people are going nowhere if Stark finds a way to blow this rock." Natasha says only he being who he is Steve replies,

"Not till everyone's safe."

"Everyone up here verses everyone down there there's no math." Natasha argues only looking at Steve he tells her,

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

"Then maybe we don't," I say having them both turn to me as I look out over the clouds saying,

"If we can get everyone we can off this rock safely then maybe we just—I mean where else are you going to get this type of view?" turning to see the two of them as they realize what I mean suddenly we all hear,

"Glad you like the view Ace, it's about to get a whole lot better." and before our eyes we watch as a Hellicarrier rises out of the clouds like some sort of last salvation. Turning to look at Steve who's just as confused and amaze as I am we hear the one and only Nick Fury say,

"Nice right? Pulled her out of moth balls with a couple old friends. She's rusty but she'll do."

"Fury you son of a bitch." Steve grins as I slap his shoulder while Fury replies,

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Naw, Sarah would never let him." I tease as Pietro who's run on over asks,

"This is SHIELD?" only I shake my head and turning to see him say with a huge smile,

"This is what it was meant to be." and so glancing over at Steve who nods the four of us start to help evacuated people from the buildings over to the lifeboats. While overhead Tony along with his friend Rhodey fight off flying bots, the team help load up the lifeboats saying how many there are and who can fit where. Basically we pile everyone we can into one boat before it flies off to safety. The second we're called up the team, the Avengers, run on for the church to meet up.

"What's the drill?" Natasha asks so that Tony points to the giant twisting gear explain that one wrong touch and we all lose. When we turn to see Ultron hovering in the air we watch as thanks to Thor he calls out basically another whole army or robots.

"This is exactly what I wanted, all of you against all of me. How are you possibly going to stop me?" Ultron mocks so that Tony turning to see Steve but not before glancing at me replies,

"Like grandpa and grandma said—together." with a roar from the Hulk we all basically fight whatever and wherever robots appear. It's a mad combination of teamwork, skill, power and energy which we all somehow feed into one another. Overhead I spy Mr. Golden Cape firing at Ultron with Tony and Thor helping to weaken him. One good punch from the Hulk sends the robot flying into the air as we see the rest of the robots flying off to leave the city.

"They're leaving!" I shout using the last of my ammo and throwing the gun away.

"We gotta head out, even I can tell the air is getting thin. You head for the boats while Ace and I sweep for stranglers. We'll be right behind you." Steve says to the group as Clint wonders,

"What about the core?"

"I'll protect it, it's my job." Wanda pipes up causing me to turn to her and smile as she returns the smile full of pride. This isn't the Wanda that Strucker beat into a pulp, this is the Wanda I always knew was there under all of that. Natasha and Clint leave while I take Steve's arm saying silently for him to go on ahead. Watching him run off I spy Pietro talking to Wanda and walk on over.

"You need to get to a boat." Wanda tells me only I shrug saying to her,

"What's a few more minutes?" stopping in front of me, Pietro frowns as I hear from behind him,

"Get her to safety!" so lifting me up into his arms Pietro speeds off leaving his twin behind. I know it's probably the hardest thing for him to do but understand what he knew—she was always stronger than she thought. The moment he set me down on the ground again I grab his face saying to him,

"You have to go back for Wanda." suddenly we both see a jet firing down on everyone below and I know it has to be Ultron. Problem is that when I see Clint holding a small boy in his arms I scream his name. I'm about to move when Pietro beats me to it leaving me to watch as he literally flings his body to push Clint out of the way. The second the gunfire stops I see Pietro riddled with bullet holes and swaying slightly. By the time I reach him I already know he's dead so fall to one knee to close his eyes. Looking up to see Clint, Thor and Steve, its Steve who lifts Pietro into his arms. The group of us head to the lifeboat so that as Clint hands the boy off to his mother I sit beside Pietro. Brushing the silvery curls out of his face, I make it appear that he's just sleeping. With my lower lip trembling as I put my hand to his chest, I glance up to see Clint tumble onto the seats near us.

"I'm sorry Hannah." Clint mumbles so that giving him a water smile just shake my head as I slowly stand up from my spot. After dragging a medic over to look at Clint who argues that he's fine, I go off to find Wanda.

"Where is she?" I ask Steve who only shakes his head before from right under our feet the ground begins to drop so that I shove Steve. Rolling onto the floor of the lifeboat I hear him scream my name as I watch his face turn into a speck above me. I don't even blink as the rock I'm sitting on goes flying dangerously towards the ground. Slowly standing despite the fall, I watch as a figure overhead flies for the lifeboats. Knowing that Wanda was safe had me smiling as throughout the ground electricity surges through it. The second I look up to see a massive bolt of lightning I'm being pulled into a pair of arms and flown up and up into the air.

"Fate has no reason to see you die yet." the voice of Mr. Golden Cape says as I turn and hug him telling him,

"You're more human than you know fella." when he sets me back onto the floor of the top deck of the Hellicarrier he turns to leave but I hug him again.

"You may not be what Tony thought or even what Ultron thought you'd be—but you're a Vision of your own." I tell him pulling back just as a few agents run over towards me. I watch as he nods before flies off somewhere and I'm brought into the carrier. They lead me to the Control Room where Steve engulfs me into a tight hug. Feeling him shaking as he pulls back to hold my face in his hands, I watch a few tears roll down his cheeks as he tells me,

"Don't ever do that again. I can't lose you too." whimpering slightly as I hug him once more we stand just holding one another in our grief. When he lets go I spy Natasha looking into nothingness and hesitantly walk over towards her.

"You were right," she tells me softly turning to see me with tears of her own that I knew no one would ever know where there, because even though they weren't in her eyes—they were in her heart.

"Now I know what it's like to choose between your best friends and the person you love." I remember what those words mean, where she had said them before and can only nod to her knowing she'll need to be alone. When I find Wanda she's sitting staring off into a void by the windows.

"They won't let me see him." she says as I sit next to her and sigh heavily. Hearing her sniffle a bit I turn to see her and take her hand tightly into my own.

"He died doing what was right." I told her so that seeing her bottom lip shake pull her into my shoulder to hush her. As she sobs quietly against my shoulder I tell her,

"The world is an amazing at causing the heart pain. It gives you something or someone to love and can take it away without a thought. You can either let your pain rule you or rule your pain. Pain is a weakness that at one point meant death for me. Now? Now it's the reason I keep fighting and doing what I have to do to make things right." pulling away from me and whipping her face with the back of her hand, Wanda chuckles saying to me,

"He cared about you Hannah, as more than just another friend. You were his only best friend outside his family, you need to know that." then smiling at me weakly I stood up and waved for her to follow me. It wasn't long before I found where they had place Pietro's body and went to give Wanda some time alone. Only she embraced me so suddenly I nearly fell over, with her clinging to me for dear life. Once she let go I pushed something into her hand so that when she looked down there was a handmade purple cape with the letter 'A' on it. Looking up at me in confusion I told her simply,

"Give it to Pietro—please?" watching her mouth open slightly as she nods, Wanda goes into the room alone leaving me to go find Steve. I had given her that cape for one reason—it was my goodbye. Time seems to speed up from that moment, Bruce goes missing in action and Clint goes home to his family. Those who remained help build the new Avengers Facility in Upstate New York. Tony was retiring and Thor was off to his home—leaving Steve, Natasha and I. Everyone from Dr. Helen Cho, Maria Hill and even a good friend of Thor's had been called in to help run the place. For now I'm heading out to find Tony and Steve talking with Tony saying something snarky as usual.

"I will miss you Tony." Steve says making Tony reply,

"Yeah but it's time for me to tap out." as I appear near the two both turn to me and smile—well Tony more like smirks at me.

"Gonna miss you too Spade." Tony says wrapping his arm around my shoulders before saying,

"Though I'm not too fond of that nickname anymore. How about something like 'Pro' or 'Expert'?" rolling my eyes as I ruffle his perfect hair I just say,

"You can call me Hannah or Ace only." swatting my hand away childishly he shakes his head as he tries to fix his hair. I giggle as he childishly sticks his tongue out at me when he gives up on fixing his hair Steve shaking his head asks,

"So the simple life then?" at this Tony turns to Steve telling him,

"You'll get there one day." only he shrugs as he looks out past Tony as he says,

"I don't know, family, stability—the guy who wanted that went into the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out." then glancing over at me, Steve takes my arm since Tony had let go and drags me to his side.

"Anyway, I have to keep an eye on this one." this causes Tony to laugh as he starts to get into his car.

"You two going to be alright?" he wonders pausing so that Steve looks down at me before telling the man,

"We're home." so with that Tony drives off down the road leaving me and Steve to walk arm in arm back into the building. We walk in comfortable silence before stopping when up ahead is Natasha.

"Do you want to keep staring at the wall or do you want to go to work?" Steve asks making her turn around and as she comes over I add,

"I mean that wall really does look good." I see Natasha roll her eyes as she walks over to us and we head on out. As she reads over the information Steve hands her I walk on up ahead as I hear Steve say,

"They're not a team." and turning to see them say,

"Then let's change that." so that as we enter the hanger a few figures turn to see us. Sam, Rhodey, Wanda and Vision stand as I stand next to Steve. I'll always stand next to him—no matter what.


	30. Twenty Eight

**Let me say one thing first—I AM NOT DEAD! I simply can't post chapters until the DVD and or inspiration comes to me. That being said this chapter does have some of the movie in it. Now that being said I'm posting this not only to keep the story from being forgotten or buried. With all of that being said—enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty-Eight~ **One Year Later**

White, everything is white and cold, a bitter freezing cold that blurs into the wintery landscape of Siberia. Concrete walls, metal and steel make up the base keeping out any source of light. Deep underground guards, doctors, scientists and soldiers go about their work. I find myself coming slowly into consciousness as the doctors and scientist check and remove me from the chamber. The moment I can be moved two guards are dragging me down hallways and corridors even though I'm limp. Screams fill my ears as I'm lead to a large room where in the center is my worst enemy. Guards stand around motionless as the screams come from a man strapped inside the chair. Hardly breathing between the screams, the mouth piece does nothing to help block out the noise. Glancing to one side I see a man in army fatigues with a red cap who once the machine powers down begins reciting words. Stalking around the machine as the man tries to regain his breathing, the colonel doesn't even blink at the pain visible in the man before him. For a moment the man in the chair glances over at me before blinking to stare at the man in front of him.

"Доброе утро Солдат." (Good morning soldier) the colonel says simply so that the man in the chair replies void of any emotion,

"Готовы выполнить." (Ready to comply)

"Я миссии для вас. санкции и извлечения, не свидетели." (I have a mission for you. Sanction and extract, no witnesses.) Handing him a folder, the colonel waves to the guards who drag me towards the same chair. The man in the chair, one with a metal arm, stands so that I'm shoved into where he had been sitting. I hear the machine gear up as the mouth piece is forced into my mouth and tense, ready for pain.

"Тени не должны будем с вами. Ее миссии - это отдельное от ваших." (Shadow shall not be going with you. Her mission is separate from yours) the colonel tells the metal armed man whose attention turns to me as the machine moved to cover part of my head. He blinks so that a spark of pain flickers through those icy blue eyes before it's gone again. I watch as the two men start walking away before agonizing pain zaps through my body. Electricity is forced into my brain frying any part of my mind that had been healing, that had been allowing me to remember. As I scream somewhere in the distance I hear shouting, a man's voice trying to break through. Shocks run through my body as I feel someone grasping my shoulders and shake my body. The voice is closer now near me as it continues to shout.

"Hannah wake up! Come on please!" the voice says before finally a hand connects with my face slapping me back into reality. Suddenly everything shifts around me; the wintery Siberia has turned into a warm comforting bedroom. The pain has turned into an emptiness as I open my eyes to see a familiar face.

"Steve?" my voice sounds raw as the blonde haired blue eyed man grins despite the pain in his expression. The moment my mind connects the dots I fling myself into his arms and hide my face in his shoulder. He hushes me softly rocking gently as I remind myself I'm with Steve Rogers, my best friend.

"The nightmare again?" he asks softly as I pull back so that he hands me a box of tissues for me to use. Dotting my eyes to remove my tears I nod weakly saying,

"It's getting worse Steve—it's getting harder to wake up." he knows exactly what I mean sadly. It had been a whole year since the events of Ultron and the new team's creation. It had been one month ago however when the nightmare began—all thanks to an encounter I had. During a short mission in Europe I was helping Wanda and Rhodey evacuating civilians. Meanwhile Steve, Natasha and Sam were fighting the HYDRA soldiers who had taken control of the government facility. It was supposed to be an 'evac and remove' mission—quick and easy—when I was separated from the team. Someone had managed to throw a discombobulate bomb at me distracting me completely. While trying to regain focus when I heard a voice say,

"Good morning Shadow," so that looking up through the smoke could see a male figure with hands behind their back.

"You don't know who I am—but that doesn't matter because soon you will. You all will." the man told me with enough malice that it was as if he was tasting venom. Because of that single event and encounter my mind had begun to revert every night to one moment, one memory. Each night it was getting harder and harder to wake me up. Tonight was no exception it seemed.

"Come on Hannah, let's get you some hot coco then you can beat up a punching bag." I heard Steve say snapping me out of my thoughts. Just nodding he stands from my bed to leave allowing me to change into some clothes. My bedroom in the new Avengers facility is personally decorated; amethyst purple walls had star lights hanging from the ceiling. The queen size bed was silver with zebra stripe pattern, the bookcase filled with not only books but old photos. Most are in black and white; Steve with Bucky and I at the World's Fair, the Howling Commando team, Peggy and I laughing in front of the camera. There's even one that Steve found of just Bucky and I dancing, lost in each other's eyes. The photos in color are of the Avengers; training with them in NYC, Steve with Sam while Clint and I played a game of pool, Natasha and I posing for the camera at a convention, even one of Tony who had photobombed a photo Steve was taking of me. Pulling on a sweater atop my sleepshirt I leave my bedroom and walk into the kitchen where Steve has two cups of hot coco for the two of us. As I sit on the counter chair he leans on the other side watching me.

"What's on your mind Punk?" I ask looking up at him so that rubbing a hand over his face he says,

"We have a lead on Rumlow." at the name I flinch and nearly crush the handle of my mug. The bastard had gotten out of the Washington events before anyone could catch him. Steve and Natasha were trying to get enough information to try and remove him finally.

"He's going to Lagos to try and infiltrate and steal a bioweapon from Institute of Infectious Diseases. This is the best lead we got on him so far." as he talks I stare into my hot coco knowing what he's going to say.

"And you don't want me to go." I mumble taking a sip of my drink only he looks straight at me saying,

"Just the opposite, I need you to go." nearly spitting out my drink into his face I stare wide eyed at him while he continues,

"We'll need everyone we can on this mission. This bioweapon could kill maybe millions of people and with Rumlow holding it? As long as you take those sleeping aids until we leave you have to come with us."

"When does the team leave?" I ask hating the idea of taking those sleeping aids because they made me fuzzy the next day or two. He knows that, that's why I haven't been on any missions since the events of Sokovia.

"We leave at the end of this week. I have more than enough faith that you'll be able to make it." Steve says taking my empty mug and putting it into the sink with his own. Standing from my chair and running a hand through my messy white blonde hair, I ask,

"Should I dye my hair? I was thinking purple but Wanda says red might look good also." chuckling at me and wrapping an arm around my shoulder, Steve leads the two of us back to my bedroom as he says,

"You dye your hair and I'll cut it off."

"Then can I get a cool helmet? I've been drawing some ideas." I continue only we both stop outside my bedroom door as he shakes his head. Glancing up at my face I tell him softly,

"This is a constant reminder of HYDRA Stevie, the ice and cold. People recognize me as the villain by my hair color, of what happened in Washington. I want to change how the world see me but can't do that looking the same." nodding his head though he exhales deeply I open my bedroom door as he replies,

"We can talk about it tomorrow."

"It is tomorrow Steve." I tease as he playfully pushes my shoulder into the room. I watch him walk down to his bedroom, next to mine, and only go in when his door is shut. I end up taking two sleeping aids as prescribed by the team 'therapist', we all have some crazy ass troubles after all. With help from those pills I don't wake up until sometime in the afternoon. Quickly I get dressed to train when I hear a knock on my door. As it opens I see Wanda walk in with scrambled eggs, toast and orange juice in hand. Giving me a smile as she shuts the door with her foot, she comes over and sits on the bed to place the food down. As I take a seat next to her and start to eat she says,

"How about the two of us train together this afternoon?"

"I don't know Wanda, I'm not even sure if I'm going on the mission." I reply finishing the food so that taking the plate and cup Wanda stands saying,

"Not good enough, now come on." so shaking my head while she turns to leave a dagger gets imbedded in the doorframe next to her. Turning sharply to see me with mouth open I shrug as I stand telling her,

"You can never be too prepared can you?" the rest of the day is spending training before lunch, than eating with the team going over the rest of the week before more training. By the time the end of the week arrives I'm gearing up and getting ready to go to Largos. Time for action it seems.


	31. Twenty Nine

**OMFG LOOK! I'M NOT DEAD AND HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN THIS STORY! With that said I'm posting two chapters for all you lovelies! Enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty-Nine~ **Lagos, Nigeria**

The team had been strategically placed about the area; Natasha, Wanda and I sitting in the market area while Sam covered the roof area. Steve was located inside a building waiting for the right moment to appear. I was dressed in black jeans, a white shirt underneath a navy blue jacket with two buttons on the lapel. In my belt I've hidden two daggers one on each side along with one switch blade tucked into the inner pocket of my jacket. My hair I was able to tie into a high bun under a black rimed hat. Reading a book as I sit in the market, I kept sweeping the area for any tiny bit of detail out of place.

"Alright what do you see?" Steve's voice said in my ear as Wanda replied,

"Standard beat cops, small station, quiet street—it's a good target."

"The cops are chattering away hardly paying any attention. Clearly their guard is down meaning less reaction time." I add never taking my eyes off the page in front of me.

"There's an ATM on the south corner which means—" Steve tells us so leaving Wanda to say the obvious about cameras watching the whole scene that would happen. Glancing over at the ATM in question I narrowed my eyes watching someone standing there using it. Simple outfit, relaxed posture, hardly a threat and just a teen who'd hardly cause any trouble.

"Those cross streets are one way." Steve says sounding tense as I roll my eyes telling him,

"So compromised escape routes, Rumlow clearly doesn't mind being seen or causing a mess on the way out. That bastard always did like causing a show to prove his strength. Didn't mind whatsoever while at HYDRA."

"See that Ranger Rover half way up the block?" Steve clearly is in complete 'Cap' mode as I glance up towards the tinted window where he's located.

"The red one? It's cute." Wanda says simply making me groan softly as Natasha explains,

"It's also bullet proof which means private security which means more guns which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us."

"Yes well that's not uncommon now is it?" I tease so that I hear Natasha chuckle under her breath.

"You guys do know I can move things with my mind right?" Wanda says so that as I turn the page to continue reading say back to her,

"Just because you have super powers doesn't mean that looking over your shoulder shouldn't become second nature."

"I'll keep that in mind." she replies glancing over towards me so that I just smirk when I catch her gaze.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a little paranoid?" Sam's voice comes through the ear piece so that shaking my head muttering to myself,

"Like that hasn't been said about Nat before? I'd be shocked." Steve's voice comes through telling us all to keep focus on the mission. The fact that this was the best lead on the bastard in many months means that Steve and I would love to catch this guy sooner rather than later.

"If he sees us coming that won't be a problem, he kind of hates us." Sam says before adding,

"But of course Blondie and Steve are on the top of his list."

"Thanks for the confidence boost." I tease as I spot something out of place, something that catches my full attention. Down the street a ways a garbage truck drives carelessly through the street causing people to shout. Slowly setting down my book to put into my shoulder bag, where a handgun with ammo await, I hear Sam explaining the truck is overweight meaning it's perfect to smash into the gates of the building. Not only that but the driver of said truck is armed, of course he is.

"Go now." Steve says yet I'm already standing up with my shoulder bag on having slipped the gun into the holster on my waist. Walking towards where the truck is headed, I slowly speed up my walk until I watch the driver jump out of the truck. That leaves it to go smashing into the gates of the targeted building creating the perfect way for Rumlow and his team to enter. As the truck rolls onto its side and pieces of the gate slam into the ground two yellow trucks appear speeding towards the area. While one truck ends up inside the gates another waits outside as Rumlow's men appear out of both trucks. With guns drawn and firing at the guards trying to stop them, I pull out my handgun and begin picking off the agents still outside. Each shot is aimed for the head, quick and easy as I take cover behind some of the debris caused by the crash. From overhead I watch Steve appear beginning to pick off the agents and so I rush over to help. As he fights most of the agents I use the rest of my ammo before quickly changing the cartage. When a figure appears nearby I grab the arm holding his gun and twist it with enough force to make the gun drop to the ground. Trying to kick me so that I'd let him go of his arm, I use the momentum from the kick to swing him straight into the side of a car.

"Body armor, AR-15 with seven hostiles." Steve tells the rest of the team so that overhead I spy Sam taking out some of the men on the roof.

"I make it five." he says with a smirk in his voice.

"Are we having a tally of who gets the most numbers now boys?" I ask watching as Wanda comes up over the building using her powers to create not only a shield but to send one man up for Sam to take out.

"Rumlow's on the third floor." Sam says to us while Steve walks towards Wanda so that the moment he goes flying into the buildings windows she sends me up right after. The moment I land inside the building Steve and I take out the targets one by one. Steve uses his shield while I fight quick and easy with my daggers. The second I can confiscate a gun I'm using it to injure and take out whoever is left standing. I watch as the toxic knock out gas in the place is literally forced out of the building by Wanda's power while I take off to find Rumlow. I don't care if I'm off the mission, both Pale Shadow and I want some 'personal' time with him. The second I see men using a zip line to escape I slice the line a moment too late since he's already on the ground and stepping into an armored car. Without a thought I fling myself off the balcony and slam into the ground. In front of me I watch Natasha taking out more men who seem to literally appear out of nowhere. Moving into the fray to help her someone grabs me by my hair and hauls me up onto the roof of a truck.

"Good to see you again Shadow." Rumlow's voice says from behind his helmet as I allow my 'other half' to burst forth and fight him blow for blow. Kick, punch, jab and hit blocking or hitting him the moment I see an opening I jam a dagger into his shoulder. Watching him hardly finch makes my eyes widen as he growls,

"That don't work no more sweetheart!" before he tosses me aside like a rag doll. Rolling onto the ground and coughing the bastard starts using a rocket blaster from inside another armored truck. Firing blasts into the building where Steve still is, I force myself up right and grab a nearby machine gun on the ground. With careful aim at Rumlow's back I fire six rounds that merely bounce off his armor.

"Guys his armor is bullet proof." I snap turning my attention to shooting more agents not caring if I kill them or not, Rumlow has pissed me off. Suddenly I watch as Steve goes flying out from inside the building to land rather hard onto the ground. Running over towards him to help him upright he tells Sam to look for an AMV heading North.

"Come on Punk." I say helping Steve upright and allow him to check me over for wounds or injuries. Just slapping his cheek in reply we both race off back into the mess of a fight. Sprinting as fast as I can, as soon as I see a speed bike I 'borrow without permission' and race off to find the men.

"I got four they're splitting up." Sam informs us so that while Natasha moves for the two heading left I ditch the bike and hop from car top to car top after Steve. Upon finding a chest vest on the ground I scan the place so that pushing Steve out of the way take the force of Rumlow's punch. An explosion overhead means nothing as I watch Steve go flying through some market stalls. With a hard punch to the shoulder I end up on one knee on the ground as Rumlow stalks over to Steve. Grabbing my last dagger I throw it aiming for his right lower leg and manage to hit the target. Seems that he didn't armor up his legs. Despite smashing Steve in the face Rumlow grabs his leg cursing as he removes the dagger. Because he's been wounded it's easier for Steve to dodge his attacks even though at one point Rumlow pins him to a wall. Rushing towards him I raise a kick to his shoulder making him drop Steve as I grab him by an arm. Though he tries to hit me instead I slam my foot into his injured leg making him cry out. With a swift kick to the chest I send him tumbling to the ground allowing Steve to grab him. Removing his helmet to reveal his scared face thanks to Washington DC, Steve and I stand over him as I demand,

"Who's your buyer?" only Rumlow taunts us by staring at Steve saying,

"You know he knew you. Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky. He remembered you and I was there, he got all weepy about it. Until they put his brain back in a blender. He wanted you to know something he told me 'Please tell Rogers, when you got to go you got to go'." as Steve stood there stiff as a statue Rumlow turned to me adding,

"And you? Pierce made damn well sure to fry his brain over you. You'll be lucky if he doesn't kill you the next time he sees you. And guess what? You're both coming with me!" so that seeing him moving to press of explosives I grab Steve and throw him aside. The second the bomb goes off Wanda is there to contain the blast from exploding—but she loses control and the blast goes flying into a building.


	32. Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty~

The pain on Wanda's face, the pure agony as she crumbles to the ground with a hand over her mouth to stop from crying is enough to make my eyes water. I know she didn't mean to lose control, to have the blast go flying into a building with civilians or to cause casualties. Slowly I make my way over to her and kneel before her seeing her eyes not focused.

"Hey, hey Wanda look at me." I say taking her shoulders and shaking her slightly so that her eyes find mine. Tears start to fall as I tell her firmly,

"You can't let this control you, you can't let your grief get to you like this. Yes you caused it but you have to keep a clear head."

"But those people—innocent people I killed!" she whimpers so that I shake her shoulders again telling her,

"If you continue to let your grief and pain and fear control you you'll never conquer your powers. Trust me—I know." for a moment she just looks at me as more tears fall even though I can tell she's trying to stop them. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders and helping her to stand, I let her lean on me since her body can't withstand the pain in her heart. As fire, medics and police swarm the scene I bring Wanda as far away from the chaos as I can. Taking her ear piece out of her ear and putting it into my pocket, I sit her on a bench and tell her,

"Wait here ok? I'll be right back and don't you dare move from this bench." the moment she nods her head I stand to find Steve and the others. Steve is talking to Natasha with Sam nearby calculating something. When Steve notices me he comes over but I say before he can speak,

"She's withdrawing again Steve. The blame is getting too much for her."

"It wasn't her fault." he tells me only I scoff and say,

"You might think that, I might think that—but no one else is going to think that. And you know it." his expression hardens as he looks over my shoulder to Wanda who sits rocking slightly. When we have the first opportunity to, the team returns back to the Avengers facility. Of course Steve and Natasha argue over if we could even fly back to America. Once on the jet and flying off leaving Lagos behind, I hate to do it but slip Wanda a sleeping aid given to me. She not only physically needs the rest but mentally also. Natasha piolets the jet while Steve works on doing anything he can for what happened in Lagos. Sam works on fixing pieces of his mini jet Redwing while I take time to rest. With my eyes closed I think about what Rumlow had said. I knew Bucky had remembered Steve but I couldn't help the ache I feel since Pierce—the rat bastard rotting in Hell—had made sure that Bucky would forget me. If that was the case—I'm lucky he did end up remembering me. What if he hadn't? What then? The very moment we land back at the Avengers facility I'm helping a half asleep Wanda into the main building towards her bedroom. Vision appears and offers to help so that gently passing Wanda to the humanoid android watch him lift her up without second thought. I smile at his back considering he's always 'liked' Wanda—which I thought was cute. When I can't find Steve after an hour or so of searching I return to my own bedroom to shower and change clothes. The warm water soothes my muscles but not my mind, the comfortable sweatpants and baggy shirt can't do anything as I curl under the blankets of my bed. I must have fallen asleep because I wake up groggy to see Vision standing by the door.

"You better have knocked." I mumble rubbing my eyes as he replies simply,

"Yes of course, I've learned the hard way to always knock when the door is closed." shaking my head at this I pat the side of my bed for him to sit on. He does with a bit of hesitation sighing heavily to himself.

"How's Wanda?" I ask after a moment so that he says,

"Asleep for now, I sort of helped with that."

"Good because she'll need all the rest she can get." I say moving to sit next to him as he takes my hand into his. Ever since the Ultron madness Vision and I have been close. Not as close as him and Wanda but we have an understanding—he's the only one who knows I've thought about—I don't even want to think of it right now.

"It wasn't her fault." I say finally so that he nods replying,

"Of course it wasn't, her powers are growing everyday as she grows. To control them takes a lot of concentration and understanding. She must find that balance." standing from the bed and pulling him up with me, I give him a quick hug before telling him,

"I'm off to find Steve." as the two of us leave I head off only he calls,

"I do believe he's in his bedroom." so that mock glaring over my shoulder watch as he disappears into the living area. Going over to Steve's bedroom door I knock three times before calling out,

"Punk—come on let me in please." when he doesn't answer after I count to ten I try his doorknob to find it unlocked. Stepping into the room I find it dark and his figure lying in the bed even though I know he's not asleep. Carefully I go over and sit on the bed with his back facing me to put a hand on his shoulder. Feeling it shaking slightly under my hand causes me to rub his back to comfort him somehow. After about twenty minutes his shoulders stop shaking and I ask,

"Do you want me to leave?" rolling onto his back to stare blankly up at the ceiling, I frown and tap his cheek telling him,

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty, or do you need a kiss to break thy slumber?"

"It's not funny Hannah!" he snaps suddenly shooting upright in bed before fighting to stand up and pace the room. I sit watching him silently knowing he'll talk when he wants to, and him knowing I won't leave until he does. Finally he sighs and collapses onto the bed again so that I can rest my head on his shoulder.

"Remember the time the three of us made a pillow fort?" I say hearing him just grunt in response as I continues,

"We were going to build it outside but it started to rain, Bucky offered to let us use his bedroom instead of his ma's living room. You brought over your blankets and pillows while I brought snacks and a deck of cards. We built the damn thing using blankets, pillows and chairs before sitting inside playing poker."

"Bucky taught us that from his dad." Steve says softly making me nod and continue the story softly as if I'm almost relive it.

"You two were the oldest so I was told to come on home before dinner. But I didn't because I fell asleep inside the pillow fort. The next day I fond you two fools on the floor in the living room sleeping atop a blanket with couch cushions for pillows."

"What's the point Hannah?" Steve finally asks so that sitting up to look at him with soft eyes explain,

"We made the best out of problems and troubles, from that pillow fort to the schoolyard, Bucky being drafted and your silly ass turning Superhero. We kept doing what we could during the War to make things right with the tools we had. If we had stopped trying nothing good might have happened. The War might not have ended and all three of us could have died with no chance or returning. We have to do the same thing now; do the best we can with the problems and troubles facing us right now. If we stop trying than there's no point in any of this. Sure we can't be totally perfect but no one on this Earth is. We can't stop every death that might happen due to us being involved. If those Helicarriers had stayed in the skies millions of people per ship would have died. If we didn't blow the rock of Sokovia up than everyone in that country and beyond would have died. Casualties are a part of what we end up having to do. Not every single soul can be saved Steve—not every single soul can stay. If we focus on only the deaths than we might as well stop everything and sit in our rooms curled in a ball. But you know what? I get up every day to try and save as many as I can because that's the right thing to do. HYDRA and all be damned—I can't keep that in the front of my mind anymore. Otherwise I'd never leave my bedroom. Getting out to do what we do comes with a price every damn time—we either acknowledge that or give the hell up." by the time I'm done with my speech I don't notice I'm crying until Steve brushes some of my tears away. Giving him a watery smile as he pulls me into a hug, I whimper a few times before pulling back.

"When did you get so smart?" he teases making me chuckle and tell him,

"Considering the two of us are in our 90's—a while ago." at that he chuckles before shaking his head and moving to lie down again. Knowing he needs rest, I stand up from the bed only he asks,

"Could you stay?" turning to see his pained expression knowing he doesn't want to be alone, I smile and ask,

"Want to build a pillow fort?" an hour later I find myself on the couch in his room curled up under my zebra blanket. I listen to Steve's even breathing which slowly eases my own mind. A noise has my head lift up to see Natasha standing in the doorway. Smiling that oh so rare true smile upon seeing me, she nods before mouthing,

"Take care of him." so that just grinning back at her watch as she shuts the door. Glancing over at the bed where Stevie-boy is asleep, I curl back into a comfortable position and find myself asleep also.


	33. Thirty-One

**Hello everyone! Gosh it feels like forever since I started writing this story. In the beginning I had every intention of finishing it and guess what—I did. With that said expect this part where Civil War comes in to be filled with drama, drama, drama. Hope you all enjoy and I thank every single person who has reviewed, followed and favorited this story. You're the best!**

Chapter Thirty-One~

Time became cruel because far too quickly a whole month went by. Wanda and Steve took their own time healing from the events in Lagos. Wanda threw herself into her practice and even tried meditation while Steve found some way to make peace with what had happened. Of course being 'Captain America' meant he had to answer to dozens of people during every hour of the day. One meeting about two weeks after Largos the press had a chance to ask Steve even more questions. I stood behind him for moral support, letting my presence hopefully be a grounding point for him. However one member of the press turned the tables and directed questions—to me.

"How come the Avengers are allowing a known terrorist work for them? One who if not mistaken worked alongside the Winter Soldier?" the man asked, a skinny sort of haughty man wearing a too expensive suit and really bad haircut.

"If there was any danger with her being at our sides she wouldn't be here." Steve had said only the man kept at it saying,

"I disagree Captain Rogers, it has come to my attention that the woman in question has an amazing resemblance to one 'Ace Cohen'. Not only that but in the Smithsonian it says she was your friend at one point in time. Could it be that you're defending her from being brought to justice?"

"She has been questioned by the authorities who—" Steve had tried to explain only that had the man asking,

"Which authorities? The FBI? CIA? Did anyone from any other country she committed crimes in even allowed in the front door?" seeing that the crowd of other members of various press groups were growing rowdy. However I was damned if I didn't go down without a fight so moved to stand in front of the microphone.

"Look I know I've done wrong ok? I've done more and seen more things than any single person in this room might even begin to think of. I don't even think anyone of you would begin to imagine it. There isn't a single person in this room among you who'd be alive right now if you were in my place. You'd given up a very, very long time ago. I grantee none of you from the press would be standing if you had to go through what I did."

"Then you're playing the victim card." the bastard said with a sneer so that rolling my eyes before anyone could blink the tie around his neck was gone and in my hand.

"No you're the victim," I told him throwing the tie back at his feet while continuing,

"Don't dare think I'm a martyr or someone to feel bad for. I've seen the last circle of Hell and I'm fighting to keep everyone else from seeing the same thing. Maybe I should stop but I won't and I never will because at the end of the day—every one of you need protecting. And if you can't do that yourself—you need to find someone who can. And if not the Avengers or a member of them—than who can save you after all?" the moment I took Steve's arm and pulled him out of the conference room I waited until the doors were firmly shut. The second I heard the lock close I kicked a window so hard that there was no glass left in the window frame. That had been about a week ago now, so that the first news story after that press conference was—'Is Ace Cohen alive or a Terrorist Fake?' I didn't watch or read or listen to any source of media as I worked from six in the morning to eleven in the evening. I knew Steve was mad at me since the press conference and he still hadn't talked to me. Now as I walk down hallways towards the teams living area I spotted Steve watching TV—watching the news.

"Our people's blood is spilt on foreign soil, not only because of the actions of criminals, but by the inference of those who pledge to stop them." the voice of the Wakanda King says as I enter the room on silent feet watching Steve's face, his pain filled eyes.

"Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all." as Steve pauses the video feed I step over saying,

"Clearly he's never heard of wars."

"We weren't fighting a war in Lagos!" Steve shouts standing up to slam his fists down on the table nearly breaking it. Glaring at my face with anger in those same eyes, I shake my head telling him,

"No, but if Rumlow had gotten that bioweapon that man would be dead along with everyone else in his country."

"So it's one or the other?" Steve says stepping into my face only I shove his chest saying,

"It's either we try or we stop trying! Let's just all go on vacation and never return. Let's not stop Loki from taking over earth! Let's not stop Ultron from slamming a rock into the planet! Let's not stop three huge ships from killing millions at a time! Let's just sit on our asses and watch!" by the time I finish I'm screaming so that I turn sharply on my heel and storm out of the room towards my bedroom. After collapsing on the bed there a knock is at my door. The person who enters is Vision who says gently,

"I heard your distress and came to try and help." sitting upright and crossing my legs I scoff saying,

"You can't help me V—no one can." he signs as he comes over towards the bed and willingly takes a seat on the corner this time.

"I hate to see you—anyone—in such torment. But that isn't the pressing issue right now." he says taking my hand in his as he says,

"The Secretary of State is here along with Mr. Stark." at this I follow Vision out of my bedroom towards where the others are located. I say nothing as I enter the conference room standing just inside the door glaring at the man in a fine suit. Just out of Washington DC, the man has such a haughty nature about him you could suffocate. As I slip into a corner of the room I study the man from perfect graying black hair and mustache, expensive business suit and eyes that snap towards me when he notices I've entered the room. Crossing my arms over my chest, I wait for whatever this guy has to say with narrowed eyes and calculating every single move he made.

"Five years ago I had a heart attack, dropped in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bi-pass, I found something forty years in the army never taught me." the Secretary says making me internally wonder how the hell someone so bitchy could take orders.

"Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives—but while a great many people see you as heroes—there are some who would prefer the term vigilantes." he says as I glance at everyone in the room from Rhodey, Wanda, Natasha, Sam, Vision, Steve and even Tony.

"And what word would you use Mr. Secretary?" Natasha asks using her sweetness voice so that without a thought he replies,

"How about dangerous."

"Of course because no army, navy, military or air force isn't dangerous." I scoff getting the man to glare at me as if trying to scare me. Instead of answering me the bastard keeps going with,

"What else would you call a US based Enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign boarders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who seem frankly seem unconcerned about what they leave behind."

"Ok so the Atomic bomb wasn't a good idea when America used it. Or how about Pearl Harbor, World War One and Two, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War?" I say mockingly so that the man glares at me with enough force to make any normal person back down—I'm not any normal person however. I watch as the Secretary storms over towards the screens on the wall and begins playing video footage. The Battle of New York, Washington DC, Sokovia, and Lagos—those images play out in front of everyone's eyes. And Mr. I-Know-Everything doesn't even seem phased. Seeing Wanda turn away upset I tell the guy to stop the footage so that as he turns it off the Secretary acts as if he never heard me.

"For the past four years you've acted with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution," and onto the table he puts a huge folder which he calls the 'Sokovia Accords'.

"Approved by one hundred and seventeen different countries, it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel only when and if that panel deems it necessary." as he walks around the table I see Rhodey a war vet himself, Natasha a superspy, Sam a war vet, Wanda an Enhanced, Vision a superhuman being and Steve the first Superhero.

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve says staying true to who he is as the Secretary tells him,

"Tell me Captain can you tell me where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplayed a couple of thirty megaton nukes you can bet there be consequences. Compromise, insurance, that's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground." before the Secretary leaves on his High Horse I say,

"Seems the world never changed, apparently we learned nothing for war." only he says to me before he walks out,

"You're nothing but a glorified terrorist—I don't care what you say." the moment he leaves I stab a dagger into the table with enough force that it sinks halfway into the wood proving my point.


	34. Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Two~

The next few hour consist of the group arguing over the Accords. Sam and Rhodey clearly have a difference of opinion of what the Accords mean for the team, actually we all do. Steve sits reading carefully the document as I stand by twirling my dagger from the table. With the blade twirling between my fingers I listen vaguely to the others until its Vision who speaks up.

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man the number of known Enhance persons has grown exponentially. And in that same period the number of potential world ending events has risen at a commensal rate." of course I roll my eyes at his big and fancy words, basically saying that in eight years more trouble has grown the same time as more 'superheroes' appear.

"Are you saying it's our fault? That we're to blame for everything?" I ask only Vision merely shakes his head trying to continue to explain how he sees the situation.

"I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge, challenge invites conflict, conflict breeds catastrophe. Oversight, oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand." looking around to see how these words have affected the team I can feel a shift of emotion in the room. Vision is either totally right—or totally making things worse.

"Tony, you're be uncharacteristically none-hyper verbal." Natasha says as I glance over at the man who in all honesty looks ready to either snap or go off on a rant.

"He's already made up his mind Natasha, he sees things one sided." I say watching as Tony sits up from his slumped over position on the couch.

"You know me so well oh Expert One," he grumbles standing up and rubbing the back of his head as he walks over to the kitchenette area to make himself coffee. I watch as he grumbles before showing on a screen a picture of a smiling young man. Studying the photo Tony sighs heavily telling us,

"That's Charles Spencer by the way. A great kid, a computer engineer, and 3.6 GPA, had a four gig Intel plan for the fall but first he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked himself behind a desk. To see the world and maybe be of service. Charlie didn't go to Paris or Fort Lauderdale which is what I would have done. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor guess where—Sokovia." the emotion in the room turns instantly somber as I stop twirling the dagger and put it away in my belt. I don't even need to look over at Wanda to know how she feels about hearing this from Tony. Of all people—Tony Stark is making her feel horrible.

"Then again we won't know more because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass," walking back towards the group Tony continues as calmly as Tony Stark can saying,

"There is no decision making process here. We need to be put in check in whatever form that takes I'm game. If we can't set limitations we're boundless no better than the bag guys."

"Tony, someone dies on your watch you give up. Throw in the towel and walk away with your back turned." I say crossing my arms only he seems to glare at me telling me,

"Who says we're giving up?" of course Steve says what he feels, how he sees things and how we should even feel about all of our actions. Rhodey however has his two cents about just how dangerous that form of thinking is, the United Nations is what holds us accountable. But they're just another form of a group where everyone has an agenda, something to say, something to prove.

"Damn it guys if we sign this than all of us give up our right to choose! What if we go somewhere we don't think we should go? What if we have to go somewhere but they don't let us? We all might not be perfect because no one is, but the safest hands are still ours alone." I say pushing off the wall I'm leaning against and put my hands on the back of Steve's chair, looking at each person in the room straight in the eye until they look away first. Turning to Tony he just says firmly and with his own conviction,

"If we don't do this now, they'll end up doing this to us later. That's a fact and it won't be pretty."

"You're saying they would come for me." Wanda says unable to hide the twinge of fear in her voice as Vision says honestly,

"We would protect you."

"Don't worry about that Wanda, I'm not about to let them take you anywhere." I say giving her a supportive smile before Natasha, the 'reasonable' one speaks up with,

"Maybe Tony is right, if we have one hand on the wheel we can still steer. If we take it off—"

"Hey aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss our superhero asses a few years ago? Did you forget that or are you forcing yourself to forget that?" I say almost mockingly since she also was the one to dump all of HYDRA's secrets, go in front of a government run panel and say what was exactly on her mind. Her answer doesn't sit well with me whatsoever as I roll my eyes and huff in annoyance. She tries to remind all of us about our very well-known and public mistakes, to win everyone's trust back. Tony, the airheaded man he can be actually gloats about the fact Natasha has agreed with him which I know she'd love to retract and sweep under the rug. As the two bicker Steve takes out his cell phone and reading over his shoulder nearly lose my breath. In two sentences Steve's world has flipped upside-down as he all but flees the room. I go to follow him but not before saying to everyone,

"I really hope all of you know what you're doing, what you're signing up for. This isn't just about what's considered 'right' or 'wrong'—it's about what you're willing to defend and fight for. And don't think for a damn second that that won't happen." leaving on that note I go in search of Steve and end up finding him tucked hidden away in a stairwell. Carefully going over to him I take a spot on the staircase and dare to ask,

"It's Peggy—it's it?" he just nods once as his shoulder shake while he fights his emotions. Going over to his side I wrap an arm around him as he leans into me. Though we say nothing no words are really meant to be said. Peggy meant so much to Steve, probably meant everything that he hoped for. A romance, a chance of happiness—maybe even a wife. He told me about seeing her in Washington, about how she couldn't seem to remember him from each time he visited. I knew that broke his heart even though he was determined to stay strong and steady his emotions. He even told me that he would write letters to her despite fearing she'd never read them. Now with this stupid Accords hammering down on our shoulders Steve defiantly didn't need this right now. It was all too much for him—and yet he was determined to stay strong on the outside.

"Hey Punk look at me." I say gently as he pulls back with unshed tears in his eyes. As one slips down his cheek I brush it aside telling him,

"She lived an amazing life—she made the best out of everything. You know that."

"I just wish—I can't even begin to—I don't want to think—" he stumbles over what to say, how to convey his aching emotions so that I just pull him into a tight hug not wanting to let him go. When I do pull back the two of us manage to sneak into his bedroom. As he just lies on the bed lost in his mind I go about buying plane tickets to London, a hotel for us and whatever else we might need.

"You don't have to come with me." Steve says suddenly so that I sit up straight and glare at him defiantly.

"Don't you dare think for a second I'm not going with you. She wasn't just someone to you, Peggy was my friend also. I have every right to be there to say goodbye. Even if I can't—" now it's my turn to fight not to cry. Removing tears with the back of my hand I buy our plane tickets and book the hotel giving all the information to Steve. When I go to leave him for a moment of peace from the bed Steve says,

"You don't have to be so good to me." turning to see him I smile weakly and reply in a whimper,

"You're all I have of family Steve. You're all I have." with that I leave shutting the door gently behind my back. Before I can reach my own bedroom I spy Wanda walking over towards me. Giving me a small smile she says carefully,

"It's about Steve's friend right? Peggy?" I only nod as I lean my shoulder against the wall and rest my head on the wall. Smiling at my memories of Peggy, the strong willed and stubborn woman I say,

"She was so much more than a friend Wanda. I know for a fact if he had the chance Steve would have married her. He never really healed his heart knowing that, probably never will."

"Death can leave behind a painful hole in one's heart. Pietro's death was the worst pain I've ever been meant to feel, more so than my parents believe it or not. He was my twin, my brother and best friend without a doubt. Even though I can still feel the void in my chest the fact I have such fond and wonderful memories helps ease the pain some." when she says this I push off the wall and allow her to hug me just as I had for Steve. With a small couple of sobs I pull back and mouth to her,

"Thank you." before she nods and allows me to enter my bedroom. That night I lie in bed silently crying for Steve, for Peggy and for what could have and might have been. I hide my face in my pillow and scream once or twice so that by the time my exhausted body is ready for sleep my throat is sore and I can hardly speak. While waiting for sleep to come I sit staring at the photo of Peggy and I; we were grinning side by side with an arm around each other's shoulder. Even though she had been annoying to me in the beginning that all changed so quickly as I worked alongside her. I was going to miss her so much, but not as much or as painfully as Steve.


	35. Thirty-Three

**I shall be posting two chapters today just because I feel like it. Also I'd like to move the story along towards the finish line. So enjoy all!**

Chapter Twenty-Three~ **London, England**

The church is packed with people of all sorts; from military to politicians, former SSR members still alive and those who had known her. Family members sit closest to the coffin which is draped with the British flag. I sit wearing an all-black pant suit as I watch Steve held carry the coffin, the pain in his eyes almost hauntingly strong. When he sits down Steve sits between Sam and myself as I instantly take his hand to hold. After several different people come up to say some words of remembrance the minister offers someone named 'Sharon Carter' to speak. I watch as a familiar person steps onto the platform so that I nudge Steve to look up. The look of pure surprise and how he grips my hand tightly is enough for me to squeeze his hand, letting him know I was there.

"Margaret Carter was known to most as the founder of SHIELD but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy," the expression on Steve's face is enough to make me want to smack this woman. He had known her as one person than turns out to be someone different. Not only was she related to the woman Steve first loved, but she was also someone he cared about deeply. I try my best not to glare as I look over at Peggy's picture—she looks so confident and strong.

"She had a photograph in her office, Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid that was pretty cool but it was a lot to live up to, which is why I never told anyone we were related. I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. She said compromise where you can, but where you can't don't. Even if everyone is telling you something is wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say no, you move." looking down at my hands I try and smile at those words—but can't.

"Aunt Peggy had another photo in her office, of her alongside two people she considered more than just colleagues. On one side is a figure everyone would come to know as Captain America, who fought through World War Two and helped win the war. The other person was an unknown face to me, someone who I never saw in history books or in documentaries. One day I asked Aunt Peggy who that person was and she told me—Ace." at this my head jolts upwards to see the blonde haired woman standing in front of everyone. Even though I had worn my hair nearly hidden under a black hat she was smiling at me, as if she knew it was me despite the lame disguise.

"She told me that everyone who first met Ace didn't have an ounce of faith in her. Who was this spunky young woman who tagged alongside Captain America? It wasn't until the Allies won their first major battle that all of that changed. She told me that Ace had not only disobeyed orders by leaving the camp, but had helped free every soldier captured. From that moment Ace was, to everyone who had been there, a hero. She saved lives without seemingly caring about her own, did whatever was asked of her and more to help and was willing to put herself right on the line in order to win. A couple years ago I saw a monument to Ace, the same face from Aunt Peggy's office smiling back at me. Knowing that my aunt had known such two amazing people was incredible to me. Two people who had seemed so different for so many different reasons—but to Aunt Peggy they were just two of her best friends." the rest of the service goes by like a blur as I watch Sharon take her seat again. By now I have dried my tears and forced a façade up to hide the rest of my grief. Hours go by, the service ends and people begin to leave while saying a few words to one another. Sam turns to us and smiles before leaving the church, knowing that the two of us needed time alone. Even though Sharon had seemingly vanished from the church Steve and I stay—stay and silently say a final goodbye. Footsteps alert me to someone coming towards us and so turning I spy Natasha who smiles softly at the two of us.

"When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. When I found out she was alive—I was just lucky to have her." Steve's words are achingly painful so that I can't even begin to image. Thinking Bucky and I were dead, everyone else he knew was dead only to find Peggy alive. Now she was gone and even though I was standing right beside him I knew Steve still felt a void.

"Who else signed it?" I finally say putting the main topic onto the table so that sighing Natasha says to us,

"Tony, Rhodey and Vision."

"What about Clint the farmhand?" I ask which has Natasha just say shaking her head,

"He says he's retired." of course when Steve asks about Wanda it's easy to know that for now she hasn't signed it. Taking off the damn hat and letting my hair tumble out of its hold I try not to get angry as Natasha says where she's going—to Vienna.

"Just because it's the past of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important, that we stay together." her words have true emotion to them of both fear and shaky hope—hope that Steve and I will sign those papers.

"But what are we giving up to do that? I'm sorry Nat I just can't sign those papers." when Natasha glances over at me I shake my head once. Nodding mostly to herself as she swallows some emotion I ask her,

"Then what are you really doing here?"

"I didn't want either of you to be alone. Either of you." she says hugging Steve first before hugging me and whispering,

"He's only got you now." then she's pulling back and with a weak smile leaves the church. Steve and I are the last ones to leave the church arm in arm with Sam having texted us that he'd meet us at the hotel. We walk down the street with no real location in mind in silence before Steve asks,

"What happens now? The team is being pulled apart at the seams because we can't agree on what's right or wrong. Isn't that what we normally fight? Fight the wrong to make it right?" turning to see him and take a shoulder to stop him from walking, when Steve turned to see my weak smile I told him,

"No one can be right all the time."

"Nor should they have to." a female voice says so that turning the two of us see Sharon walking over who offers her hand for me to shake.

"I'm glad to finally meet the other face in the photo." she says making me reply,

"I'm not one hundred percent who I was—but thank you." I step behind the two as we walk back to our hotel and be damned if Sharon isn't in the same one. As they talk I keep an eye out for anything or anyone who might be too interested. It was becoming common knowledge that Captain America wasn't about to sign the Accords which could make him a target. Finally we walk into the hotel so that once in front of the elevators Steve asks Sharon about her job at the CIA. When the awkwardness grows too high I smirk before stepping aside giving them some much needed space. Turning I spy Sam walking with purpose so that when he stops in front of me the man says,

"There's been a bit of a problem in Vienna." then he goes over to Steve so that the three of us end up watching the news talking about a bomb having gone off at the Accords. Sharon has joined us talking endlessly on the phone as Steve, Sam and I watch firemen put out the seemingly roaring flames and police try to secure the scene. The King of Wakanda has been killed in the blast, the leader of a people who have already lost too much.

"Officials have released video footage and have identified this man as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent known for countless acts of terrorism and political assassinations." as I stare at the screen I frown darkly feeling Pale Shadow longing to break free and tear apart the room. Instead however I shake my head saying,

"That isn't him, he wouldn't be too careless as that to show his face."

"I have to go to work." Sharon says standing next to me so that turning towards her say,

"There couldn't have been any camera that Bucky wouldn't have seen or known about. That man walked square into the shot and turned at the right angel to be seen? No, no that isn't Bucky."

"Officials have already identified him—" Sharon tries to say only I cut her off with,

"Officials want someone to blame and he's the perfect person! There's no way he'd just stroll along after having planted a bomb. We were trained better than that Sharon and trust me—we can't forget any of what we learned." sighing to me and shaking her head in some form of pity, she walks over to the door to leave as Steve puts a hand on my shoulder. Swatting the hand off my shoulder, I watch Sharon pause as if she's thought of something before turning her head saying as she leaves,

"Just be glad you weren't with him." that sets me off so that seeing red grab a dagger from my belt and before she can open the door the dagger is inches from her hand. Turning to see me totally shocked I don't even bother glancing over at Steve.

"Trust me Sharon, Bucky would never be that stupid." I snap so that in reply she asks me,

"Then tell us where he could be right now."

"He'd be somewhere where you'd never bother to think of looking. The last thing he'd want to do is draw more attention to himself." even so Sharon just narrows her eyes at me before storming out of the room. I move to follow her only Steve rushes of and grabs my arm but instead of getting out a single word I say before he can speak,

"You do what you think is right Steve." then I'm out the door, leaving behind my best friend.


	36. Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four~ **Vienna, Austria**

Everything was still chaos from the bomb explosion; dozens of different agencies where on the scene with even more working on their own agenda. Those with non-life threating injuries were being seen at the level of injuries sustained. Sitting on a bench, Natasha Romanoff watches Prince—now King—T'Challa storm off vowing to kill James Buchanan Barnes. A moment or so later her cell phone rings with an unknown number so that answering she hears Steve Rogers voice asking,

"Are you alright?"

"Well yeah thanks I got lucky." she replies not surprised to hear his voice considering his best friends been wanted for blowing up a UN meeting. Standing up looking every which way Natasha says carefully,

"I know how much Barnes means to you I really do. Stay home, you'll only make things worse. For all of us, please."

"Are you saying you'll arrest me?" Steve's voice says with only a tiny trace of humor in it, and that alone is forced. Giving up on trying to find Steve in the crowd, hoping foolishly that he's not anywhere near Vienna Natasha shakes her head.

"No, but someone will if you interfere that's how things work now." she says hoping—again foolishly—that he listens to her for once. Not too far away however tucked away from all the madness but still able to see her, Steve looks at her knowing she can't see him.

"If he's this far gone Nat it should be me to turn him in." he tells her honestly not wanting to even think for a moment about anyone else trying to find Bucky. It was bad enough that once again he was on the front page of the world, but Steve didn't need any more problems.

"Why?" Natasha finally asks so that simply Steve told her,

"Because I'm the least likely to die trying."

"What about Hannah? Please tell me she's with you." Natasha's voice says now with an undertone of begging so that shaking his head and sighing Steve tells her,

"No—she was gone before I could even step out of the elevator."

"You have to stop her Steve she shouldn't even go two feet near Barnes." Natasha's voice has worry and even fear lacing her words, if Hannah was found with Barnes—neither of them would ever see daylight again.

"So I can stop Hannah but not Bucky? Isn't that playing both sides Nat?" Steve snaps so that she groans saying,

"That's not what I meant."

"It damn well sounded like it. Don't you dare tell me to choose which friend to save, don't you dare tell me to pick a side. And don't you dare tell me that I have to." Steve says before hanging up leaving Natasha to look around one last time before giving up. She knows this isn't in any way, shape or form going to end well. Steve however walks back into a small café with purpose in his step as he sits next to a man eating. Glancing over from his seat, Sam Wilson asks simply,

"She tell you to stay out of it?" when Steve doesn't reply Sam shakes his head muttering that she might be right.

"He'd do it for me." Steve just said watching everyone out of the corner of his eye as Sam tells him,

"Maybe in '45 he would, I just want to know we've considered all our options. The people who shoot at you usually end up shooting at me." Steve just looks over at Sam knowing full well that the man doesn't have to go with him anywhere. But Sam chooses too because they're friends—that's what friends do. A figure appears on the other side of Steve who turns out to be Sharon, she might have seen Steve here earlier but she isn't about to say that.

"Tips have been pouring in since the footage hit the public. Everyone thinks the Winter Soldier goes to their gym." she says as a waitress comes over to take her order. As the three stay by the bar Sam keeps an eye out as Sharon slips Steve over a folder telling him,

"Most of its noise, except for this," so that as Steve takes it she continues on sighing heavily,

"My boss expects a debriefing right about now so that's all you're going to get." Steve can't even begin to thank Sharon enough since only one 'thank you' hardly seems appropriate.

"You're going to have to hurry, they have orders to shoot on sight. And Ace she isn't—" Sharon starts to ask only Steve's already leaving the two behind with Sam having to explain,

"It's a bit of a rough subject." and quickly Sam drops some money on the counter of the bar before walking off to follow Steve. As the two walk as far as they can from the area Sam asks,

"So what's our target location?"

"Somewhere Hannah said she's been before." Steve replies so that Sam nearly trips over his own two feet while Steve continues,

"She talked about it only once but it was clear she was hiding more than just the name of the place."

"That's where she's going—to find Barnes." Sam adds catching up to the game as the two take a moment to stop and for Steve to open up the folder. While Sam keeps an eye open for any single person taking far too much interests in the two of them he asks,

"So let me get his straight, Hannah's off to find Barnes somewhere she's already been before. That means she has the upper hand which means she could have found him. Hell she could even be talking to him as we speak." shaking his head, Steve just starts walking again with Sam following behind.


	37. Thirty-Five

**Hey all! Dramatic chapter is Dramatic! Chase scene of drama is filled with drama! Also I tried to use Romanian through Google Translate so blame that instead of me please. Enjoy!**

Chapter Thirty-Five~ **Bucharest, Romania**

For someone on a mission with a fire literally chasing after them, being able to slip past security details, police and border guards might be hard. That's not the case for Pale Shadow or me as I reach Bucharest just before sunrise. Weaving between the streets and mingling with the people, I play tourist as I take pictures of the sights. What I'm looking for through the lenses of the camera however isn't the buildings or the people or nature. I'm looking for one tiny sign that Bucky would leave to let me know where he is. It was usually a small red sticky note in a window somewhere but I couldn't find one anywhere. I meander down side alleyways and back streets, behind buildings playing lost tourist when caught. With my backpack and dirty two day old clothes I fit the part, especially since I dyed my hair a dark near black color. I hated to do it—but knew it had to be done if I was to find Bucky in time. By midday I'm starting to worry that he isn't even in the city let alone the country. I grab something to eat in a café while reading the latest newspaper. The picture of 'Bucky' is right there on the front page so that when done with the article I throw out the paper. I'm about to leave the café when a small boy comes over holding a piece of paper.

"Este pentru dumneavoastră." (This is for you) he says holding the paper as I ask calmly,

"Unde este mama ta?" (Where is your mother?) shaking his head the boy smiles at me saying,

"Ea mănâncă afară," (She's eating outside) so that turning to see where he's looking find a woman totally clueless to the fact her son is missing. Taking the paper from the boy's hand he tells me,

"Nu-i spune mamei." (Don't tell my mother) before he races back outside to where his mother sits probably making up a lie as to why he was inside the café. Carefully unfolding the paper I see an address in shaky hand writing and the words 'Missed You' at the bottom. Smiling brightly, I stand paying for the food and tucking the paper into my pocket. As I past the young boy and his mother I offer him a sweet which his mother, though hesitant, allows him to finally have. Winking at the kid as he waves goodbye, I follow the address and stop in front of a shabby apartment building. Climbing to one of the top floors I stop outside an apartment door hesitant to knock. Using the knock that we'd use during missions, I wait a moment before Bucky opens the door. The moment he does he grabs me and hauls me into the place before he's kissing me. Every unsaid word, everything we never got to say, all the emotions pent up and aching we pour into the kiss. When we have to breathe Bucky pulls back though his metal arm is around my waist. Leaning my forehead on his as we catch our breath Bucky says,

"I knew you'd end up coming." giggling despite the situation I shake my head saying,

"One tip was all I needed." sighing into my hand on his cheek, Bucky places a kiss on my palm before asking,

"What about him?" just knowing he means Steve and the fact he still can't say his name has my heart twist as I reply,

"He's worried sick."

"Punk." is all he says shaking his head as he places a lingering kiss on my lips before saying to me,

"Come on." and so frowning, I follow him out of the room which ends up being a tiny one room apartment. Giving me an all-knowing smirk as he leaves the tiny apartment room, I follow him without a second thought to his actually apartment. We're about to enter when Bucky halts staring with a dangerous glint at the door which is open just a hair. Instantly both of us turn stealth as we enter the apartment to find Steve in his uniform standing by a kitchen area. When Steve finally turns around he glances over at me just behind Bucky's metal shoulder before asking him,

"Do you know me?"

"You're Steve, I read about you in the museum." his voice is filled with more emotion than I expected it to be as Steve slowly starts moving towards us saying,

"I know you're nervous and you have every reason to be, but you're lying."

"I wasn't in Vienna I don't do that anymore." Bucky says this time I can hear the emotion leaving his voice and see the muscles under his clothes tense. He knows as well as I do that if any person saw Steve in his uniform they'd alert the authorities who'd follow him without question.

"Well the people who think you did are coming here right now and they're not planning on taking you alive." Steve says a bit closer to the both of us as Bucky shifts his weight to press me further backwards. The movement is subtle for anyone not looking for it—but Steve notices.

"Well that's smart, good strategy." Bucky says never taking his eyes off Steve waiting to see what he would do.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight Buck." Steve says looking over at me though I say nothing as Bucky moves to walk making sure to keep me behind him.

"It always ends in a fight." is his simple reply as Steve shouts at him,

"You pulled me from the river—why?" I watch as Bucky removes the glove on his metal hand and sigh deeply telling his best friend and brother,

"I don't know." there's no emotion now in his voice as he stares at Steve who glancing at me again twists to block something that is thrown through the window. The small device, a bomb, lands on the floor which I kick over at Steve who covers it with his shield. As it blasts under the shield a large gunshot hits the window causing Bucky to block it with the mattress of the bed. Pushing it aside and into a corner, he turns when we hear hard banging on the door. The second Bucky tosses the table at the door men start crashing through the windows on repel lines and in tactical gear with guns ready to fire. The fight that Bucky and I knew would happen starts as the three of us take turns either blocking, punching, kicking or hitting the men. Gunshots go off from one man so that they hit the ceiling having been thrown as Bucky literally pulls one man still on his line all the way to the other wall. The balcony door opens only I grab the man's gun and with a kitchen knife cut his rope as I pull him inside. With my foot I knock him unconscious as Steve grabs at Bucky to try and stop him.

"Bucky stop! You're going to kill someone!" Steve shouts only Bucky flips him over and slams him on the ground saying in his face,

"I'm not going to kill anyone." I watch as he throws something literally across to the other building before more men start to swarm the apartment. Steve uses his shield to block the gunfire as Bucky ducks and weaves having never forgotten any bit of his training. The moment I see Steve being thrown outside I turn to see Bucky punching a man before throwing him into the wall. Spying a man turning to fire I throw one of the several kitchen knives into his right shoulder before Bucky throws a cinder block at the man sending him into a door.

"Leave." Bucky says only I stare at him and say,

"Promise." before showing him the bracelet that I never take off. Even though it's the clone of it, I've never removed it if only to sleep. Now as Bucky stares at it he knows I'm not about to leave his side again. Three loud gunshots aim to break down the door hinges so that the second the door is loose I kick it as hard as I can into the men on the other side. As those behind the door crumple on the ground Bucky and I begin our back to back fighting. Sadly it feels as if nothing has changed—that he's still Winter Soldier and I'm still Pale Shadow. Even though I hate leaving Steve behind he'll understand—eventually. From overhead a man repels through the glass firing at me though Bucky uses his metal arm to shield myself from getting hit. Grabbing the battering ram they were trying to use, I smack several men climbing up the stairs towards us before I watch Bucky use the now unconscious man swinging to leap over to another side of the staircase. Instead of following his lead I just jump over the railing landing a few steps in front of him and using every bit of my training to fight a path for us. From overhead I spy Steve who with one jump lands in front of the two of us just as Bucky throws a man to land to his death. Even though he catches the soldier Steve tries to say something but Bucky just slams his metal elbow into someone's face. Taking my shoulder, I don't bother to hesitate as I wrap my arms around his neck. With one hand holding me the other hand Bucky uses to break and swing on the staircase railing down managing to smash a soldier into a door. As he throws punches I throw knives into arms, shoulders, legs—anywhere that isn't life threatening but still very painful. Turning suddenly to see a soldier aiming for me a familiar shield pushes the man into a wall allowing time for Bucky to just leap all the way down the center of the staircases. I'm about to follow only Steve shouts at me,

"Hannah!" so that looking up at him, I give him an apologetic smile before saying,

"Bye Punk." and with a breath jump over the same railing to be grabbed seemingly moments later by a metal arm. Bucky pulls me up over the side of the railing and onto the ground where he just nods at me before taking my waist in his flesh arm. Again I wrap my arms around his neck willingly trusting him with my life as I've done millions of times before. Squeezing tightly to his body, I watch as he runs towards the side of the building and leaps. With my eyes tight shut I feel the wind break around us before using his metal arm Bucky rolls a few times. The second I get the chance I'm upright finding that Bucky and I have literally flown over to the roof of another building. Bucky grabs his backpack as we start running again only he's hit from behind by a flying figure. When he stands up again the two of us face a figure clad in a black with silver suit, cat features on the mask and even claws. One would think fighting a person in a cat suit would be easy, but whoever this is blocks blow for blow from both of us. As I start growing annoyed with the guy I slowly start Pale Shadow to bleed through into my mind. This allows me to punch faster, kick harder and block easier to which the cat figure seems to glare at me. He turns and gets a few good hits on Bucky before trying to literally slice him apart. A roundhouse kick to the side of the head and using all that force, I throw the guy into part of the rooftop. As the guy slowly stands a male accented voice says,

"You aren't apart of this."

"You are so damn wrong." I say in a snarl of my own as now the two of us go head to head. Grabbing my jacket sleeve and pulling me towards him, I raise both feet and collide with his chest. That allows me to pull my arm from the sleeves of the jacket and wrap it around his face. Even though clearly he can cut through the fabric I use the moment of blindness to knee him in the groin. Low blow but I don't really care at this point. I turn to leave only two hands grab my ankle and pull me flat onto the ground so that two clawed hands appear in my face. Using a metal beam to block the claws inching towards my face, a booted foot appears kicking him in the side of the head. From overhead gunfire rains down as I look to see a helicopter firing without care at the three of us. A minute later I spy Sam flying over to take out the helicopter as Bucky and I take the moment distraction to run. Both of us leap over the side of the much shorter building while I glance up to see our cat friend following.

"I hate cats." I groan as I follow Bucky from one ledge to another before we land on the ground running. We only have a two minute head start from the guy chasing us even though we both run at top speed. Gunfire continues to rain from overhead as I follow Bucky whose leaps over and into an underground highway tunnel. As cars honk and swerve to miss us Bucky and I weave through the traffic. As sirens arrive behind us I throw my last knife at the tire of a police car watching it smash into another car nearby. That causes a temporary block so that the cat man has to jump over the two cars. Bucky and I end up leaping over cars and jumping from one car top to another. Glancing behind me I see a car speeding behind with Steve in the driver's seat. Driving over the median when Bucky and I cross over, Steve's actions create yet another car roadblock. Up ahead I see Bucky literally jump onto a speeding motorbike and use the speed of my running to just barely grab onto the back. Using his metal arm to help me onto the bike, Bucky continues to speed off with me sitting behind him. In between cars, around columns and dashing alongside cars Bucky pushes the bike to its limits as I hang on tightly. Suddenly something grabs ahold of my shirt and without a chance to stop I end up falling off the bike. An annoyingly familiar figure hovers over me until the front bumper of a car smacks into him sending the cat man flying. I have just seconds to stand up and seeing the overhead of the tunnel starting to collapse jump through the last gap before it crumbles behind me. Behind me the cat man keeps a firm hold of my arm digging its claws literally into my skin. That is before I kick him twice in the face just as Steve appears running at the cat man. As Steve starts fighting him Bucky comes over to check if I'm ok, but the blood on my arm tells a different story. All around us sirens wail as the four of us stand glaring at one another, Bucky's metal arm protectively around my shoulders. As I cradle my bleeding arm I spit blood out of my mouth towards the cat man. I watch the figure start towards me only from overhead yet another familiar figure appears. War Machine aims his guns at the four of us just like every other man who's surrounded us.

"Stand down now." as men swarm in to take us into custody Rhodey in his suit tells Steve,

"Congratulations Cap, you're now a criminal." as I'm torn from Bucky's side I struggle to reach him only he shakes his head as we watch the mask of the cat man be taken off. And there just like that stands the King of Wakanda so that glare at him now on my knees I say to him in his native Xhosa,

"The lives of the innocent can't be honored with the blood of the innocent." he just glares at me as he says in return,

"It depends on if he's innocent." I spit more blood at his feet in defiance before the five of us, Sam in his Falcon gear alongside us, are taken into custody.


	38. Thirty-Six

' **Xhosa' after a wee bit of research is the language T'Challa and his father speak. Things you learn on the web eh? Also if you've seen the movie (I pray you have if you're reading this) you know what's going to happen next chapter eh? Also I LOVE the idea of Hannah knowing the language T'Challa speaks, much more fun to write banter between them that way. Enjoy!**

Chapter Thirty-Six **~ Berlin, Germany**

After being torn from Bucky's side, watching him be hauled off without so much as a twitch of his body I feel myself internally shut down. I don't feel anything as my arm is bandaged or when Steve, Sam, myself and the Wakanda King are shoved into an armed vehicle. The van speeds through the streets with sirens blaring and weaving uncaringly through the streets. I sit next to Steve who demanded as such—a last stich effort to protect me—as I stare with emotionless eyes out the window.

"So you like cats?" I hear Sam ask before he continues even though Steve tries to stop him,

"What? Dude shows up dressed in a cat suit and you don't want to know more?"

"There is nothing more to know," I say suddenly, the first words I've said since our journey as I glare holes into the back of the man's head. I hardly notice Steve turn to look at me as I keep going,

"King T'Challa wants vengeance for his father's death. Blame one man for crimes and watch him be locked away forever. Do you really think that will end your blame? Do you think that vengeance is what your father would have wanted? Do you think more innocent blood is the answer?" the man in front of me shifts to see my face and after a moment says,

"You know Xhosa—how?"

"You answer my questions I'll answer yours." I hiss biting out each word as if I have venom in my mouth. When I return my gaze to the window Steve asks about the suit, made of Vibranium. T'Challa explains about the Black Panther, the protector of Wakanda for generations.

"Now that your friend has murdered my father I now wear the mantel of King." I hear him say so that switching to Xhosa I say,

"A king has more power when he is using words and not weapons." making him turn to see me—considering his father had said those exact same words.

"I ask you then, as warrior and King—how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?" his attention is directly on me as I lean forward a bit telling him,

"A King who murders is no better than any other man."

"Stop using my father's words against me!" he suddenly roars so that leaning back I tell him simply,

"Then start using them." after a few more seemingly endless miles we finally drive into an underground compound where we're allowed to get out. Turning my head I spy Bucky trapped in a metal and glass cage who once he notices me Bucky gives me a tiny nod. Turning I see what Steve's focused on—Sharon standing next to some guy in a gray suit.

"What's going to happen?" Steve demands so that the guy says,

"Same thing that ought to happen to you, physiological evaluation and expedition." then turning to see me the man adds,

"And don't think you're not about to get the same treatment."

"This is Everett Ross, Deputy Chief and Task Force commander." Sharon says clearly not about to step out of line as Steve says,

"What about a lawyer?" so that Ross just smiles telling us,

"Lawyer? That's funny, see that their weapons are put in lock-up. We'll send you a receipt." and just like that the Captain American shield and Falcons gear are taken away. Such a simple thing to do—with huge meaning behind it. As we follow those in front of us, I keep my distance from them all as best as I can noticing the Wakanda King glancing at me more than once. While walking Ross says that the man will have an office not a cell which gets me to roll his eyes and say,

"If he was any other man he'd be put in a cell, royal treatment much?" I spit the word 'royal' at his feet as I spy Natasha on her way over towards us.

"For the record this is what 'making things worse' looks like." she says far too calmly so that I glance at her saying in Russian,

"This is no worse than anything we haven't seen." so that I watch her eyes widen slightly before we enter a room to see Tony on the phone. The last man I want to see right now damn it.

"Secretary Ross wants you three prosecuted."

"He's not getting the shield back is he?" I ask so that a still shaken Natasha says,

"Technically it's the governments shield, so are the wings."

"Technically the government, no matter which country, can't own a person. That's still illegal isn't it—Tony?" I ask causing the man to turn and see me while telling me,

"You're lucky to be next to Steve and not next to Barnes."

"Then I'm in the wrong spot." I snarl as he casually walks away making me glare at his back. I know he can feel my gaze because I see the muscles of his back twitching. When I feel a hand picking up some of my hair I turn to see Steve who's frowning.

"It's better than cutting it off. It also washes out." I tell him so that I follow him into the glass meeting room in the center of the control center. The two of us watch Bucky in his personal cage seemingly very relaxed as Tony walks in causing me to literally growl.

"Wanna see something cool? I pulled it in Dad's archives, old timely. FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941. Provided help to the Allies when they needed it most," Tony talks calmly and with that never ending cocky smirk as I stand near Steve who sitting at the table shakes his head. Pens—Tony is showing Steve pens which if isn't a message I don't know what is.

"Some would say those pens brought us closer to war. Did your dad tell you that?" I ask as Tony glares up over at me before he rambles on. He's trying to make this seem so simple, just sign the Accords and be free of everything that had just happened. We'd be fine and safe and dandy—but Bucky would still be a prisoner—again. I hardly listen as the two go back and forth, more fixated on those around us. Anyone holding or carrying a weapon, at the computers and monitors, anyone who enters the room or leaves, anyone with paperwork or telling people what to do. As of this moment I'm not Hannah 'Ace' Cohen—I'm Pale Shadow—only I don't work for HYDRA. When Steve mentions Howard Stark I turn and glare at his son who mocks Steve considering he's said over and over how his own father cared more about Steve than his own child.

"If I see a situation pointed South, I can't ignore it." Steve's words cut through my thoughts as I turn to see the two men so at odds with one another. One is doing right by the governments of the world, the other is doing right by what happens because of everything else wrong with the world.

"I don't want to see you gone, we need you Cap and so far nothing has happened that can't be undone if you just sign. We can make the last twenty-four hours legit, Barnes gets transferred to an American physic center instead of a Wakandian prison." Tony actually sounds a tad bit hurt as I keep my eyes sharp and open noticing as Steve picks up a pen and stands.

"I'm not saying it's impossible, but there would have to be safe guards," he begins so that Tony of course jumps on the band wagon telling him as if it was the easiest thing in the world,

"Oh of course! Once we put out the PR files the documents can be amended. I file a motion you and Wanda get reinstated."

"Wanda? What about Wanda?" I ask stepping over from my place aside so that Tony shrugs explain how she's stuck in the compound with Vision as her babysitter.

"There are worst ways to protect people!" Tony tells me only I just roll my eyes and scoff as Steve replies,

"Protection? Is that how you see this, this is protection? It's internment!"

"She's not a US citizen and they don't grant Visas to weapons of mass destruction!" Tony snaps only that causes the two of them to bicker as they normally would—but this is hardly 'normal' in any means.

"I'm doing what has to be done, to save us from the worst." Tony finally says exhausted only I shake my head saying to him,

"As long as that gets you to sleep through the night you keep telling yourself that."

"Hey! Ross wanted you in a cage lock-up just like Barnes! He wanted you to face the same punishment as him only you're not." Tony says making me laugh asking him,

"And I should be grateful? To the Mighty and Merciful Tony Stark? No—no Tony that's not how I see it. I see it as you pushing around your new founded glorious power. Have fun while it lasts."


	39. Thirty-Seven

**Long dramatic chapter is long and dramatic! This chapter was so hard to write only because I had to decided whether Hannah would go with Bucky or stay with Steve. But guess what she choose? Read the chapter to find out(if you don't already know)and see what happens because of her choice! Enjoy!**

Chapter Thirty-Seven~

At my outburst Tony slowly stands up to say something only he's stopped when Steve puts the pen down on the table. We stand watching a monitor with Sam having entered the room with us. I can hear Sharon in the room so that watching her press something we can suddenly hear the audio. A monitor in the rooms turns on so that we can also watch up close. Upon hearing the man's voice I can't get over it. There's something uncomfortably familiar about that voice—that accented tone even though I can't see his face.

"I can't help you if you don't help me James." the man says only Bucky says simply,

"My name is Bucky." while the conversation with the man sent from the UN to question Bucky, Steve studies the photos of Bucky from the bombing finally asking the questions I already knew.

"Why would the task force released these photos in the first place?"

"Get the word out, get as many eyes as we can." Sharon shrugs only it can't be that simple as everyone assumes it is. While Steve says how he's finally catching up—get everyone looking for the Winter Soldier after he bombs the UN—Sharon of course doesn't believe the idea that he's being framed.

"I already told you, Bucky isn't stupid enough to not find a camera. That's like asking a child to not find candy—bad choice of words I know but it's true. We were trained to find any camera no matter how small or hidden. We could always find them, there was never one we didn't find. So why that one camera? Why that one location at the exact moment before the bombing?" I ask making Sharon shrug and reply,

"Maybe he just slipped up."

"No soldier forgets his training, no matter how they learn it. It's like asking someone how to stop breathing—can't be done." I say going over to stand next to her shoulder and add,

"Believe it or not, if you want someone guilty—they're not in the cage. They're the ones watching the cage." and shoving past her out the door, I storm past Tony and Natasha who I glare at before leaving the control room. Thanks to a lovely security badge I swipe, I step into the elevator which should lead me down to the containment level. It wasn't hard to figure out where or how far that was, a good listening ear and sharp eyes gave me enough information to do just that. In the wonderfully nice gift of a special task force member's ear piece, I have tuned into the conversation between Bucky and the man interrogation him. By the time I reach the right level realization smacks me in the face—hard. This is the same voice of the man who disoriented me on that mission! The one who had called me 'Shadow', the one who had sent a clear warning to me—this was the same guy! Suddenly overhead the lights go out and the emergency system lights turn on. I can just see the chaos going on upstairs as I run through the building. I run past fallen guards and soldiers not giving a damn about any one of them. I have to reach Bucky! By the time I reach the door to Bucky's cell I start searching for the trip wire, the one that would get me in the door. A quick search and I find the main breaker box, and those fried and steaming I grab one of the fuses and quickly jam it into one of the door jams. A few more and the door is loose enough for me to kick open so that it lands with a hard 'THUD' on the ground. Terror fills me however when I hear Bucky screaming and the bastard reading—from a red cover book with black star.

"Юридическая информация, Одна из, Грузовые перевозки автомобилей!" (Homecoming, One, Freight car) I don't even have time to breathe when I watch Bucky's metal fist punch through the cage door and he's stepping out of it. I stand frozen as the man before me slowly stands up, not Bucky—not my Bucky—but the Winter Soldier.

"Солдат?" (Soldier) the man asks so that hearing the curt reply,

"Готовы выполнить." (Ready to comply) I finally have enough sense to shout,

"Пале тень готов выполнять и последующей деятельности!" (Pale Shadow ready to comply and follow) which causes the two men to turn and see me. In the flashing red lights I see the scrawny bastard of a man smirk before he simply turns back to the Winter Soldier asking him,

"Mission Report, December 16th 1991." only Soldier doesn't seem to be paying attention, instead he's looking straight at me. I know he recognizes me, I had given my name and my readiness to follow orders—follow him. I stare straight on back at him before the man before us turns suddenly and slaps me in the face. I land on the floor in a daze as I hear Soldier saying something that I can hardly hear through the ringing in my ears. I watch as a face appears in my vision belonging to Bucky—but it's Winter Soldier looking back at me.

"Мы заказы тень." (We have orders Shadow) he says helping me to sit up before he helps me over to hide in a corner. As the rat bastard plays 'weakling' on the ground for someone to find, I turn to Soldier and say,

"У нас нет заказов Джеймс!" (We have no orders James) grabbing his face in both of my hands, I stare without blinking adding,

"Мы можем лишь друг с другом." (We only have each other) I see his mind spinning before he shoves me behind him just as Steve and Sam enter the room.

"Watch out!" I scream as Soldier attacks Sam without a moment's hesitation before moving to attack Steve. As the two of them end up fighting out into the hallway, I grab the rat bastard and punch him several times in the face.

"You can't stop him you know. He has orders now." he tells me so that kneeing him in the groin I say as he goes onto his knees,

"He might have orders—but not his partner." and with that I take off after Soldier no longer seeing Steve anywhere in sight. Instead I see the elevator doors slammed open as I pray that Steve's ok—but I have to stop Soldier. As I chase after Soldier I lose him only once before I find him fighting guards in the cafeteria. The moment I spy Tony I grab a left over knife from lunch and throw it at his head. It gets his attention enough for me to grab him by the collar and say in his face,

"Do anything stupid and a lot more people are going to die."

"Right because you're doing such a marvelous job of helping." he says rolling his eyes before shoving me aside onto the ground. Sitting up I watch him fire a wave blast from an Iron Man glove towards Soldier. I watch as he flinches before starting over towards Tony who just fires another blast much stronger than the first. As I stand up I watch Tony actually try to fight Soldier who just as easily grabs a gun, twists it over and around before firing an inch from Tony's face. The moment Tony goes flying backwards into some tables, Sharon comes out of nowhere along with Natasha who both begin fighting Soldier. Sharon ends up on the floor having crashed into a table before Soldier is choking Natasha with his metal arm. At this I run over and shout at Soldier,

"Она не наших целевых!" (She's not our target) he hesitates for a moment before I'm shoved sideways by the King of Wakanda. He fights with vengeance burning in his heart which won't help the situation at all. With that in mind I run over towards him and roundhouse kick him in the lower side before grabbing his arm to throw him into a column.

"I won't let you stop me." he says glaring daggers at me only I glare right on back at him saying,

"I'm trying to keep you alive." at this Soldier grabs my arm and starts pulling me along while saying,

"Мы не тратить время на." (We are waste time) only when we reach the top of the stairs T'Challa lands in front of us with Soldier moving to protect me from the attack. While the two of them continue to fight I duck low and swipe T'Challa legs from out under him. That causes the two to take a tumble down the stairs as I leap down to shove T'Challa out of the way of Soldier. Soldier takes that moment to grab my arm intending to try and leave again. Only this time he notices my bracelet and I see my Bucky flash within those pale blue eyes. With a sudden lunge T'Challa sends the two of us flying over the side of a railing with Soldier putting an arm under my shoulders. Hoisting me up onto a staircase landing, he takes my arm and continues to drag me along behind him.

"Слушать меня! Мы должны прекратить боевые действия!" (We need to stop fighting!) I shout only he just continues walking so that I add,

"Мы не работают для HYDRA нарезать! Мы бесплатно их." (We don't work for HYDRA anymore! We're free of them) at this he turns to see me clearly trying to figure out why his partner, his comrade in battle, his other half isn't following orders.

"Bucky please." I say only he frowns asking me,

"Who the hell is Bucky?" hearing this makes my heart ache as numbly I follow behind him knowing it's better to be with him—than anyone else at the moment. Soon I find myself being put into a helicopter which Soldier than begins to start up. As the helicopter begins to rise off the helipad the rooftop door opens and out runs Steve who moves to try in vain and stop us from leaving. I watch helplessly as he actually grabs onto the helicopters landing rail making us tip and sway. Soldier continues to try and pull us up into the air as I watch Steve hold onto the helicopter with one hand and the rooftop guard rail in the other. The fact alone that he's struggling to keep the helicopter from leaving, that he's doing everything he can to stop us has me string into action. Grabbing onto the steering gear when Soldier turns to see why I grab his face and kiss him. I don't stop—even when the helicopter slams into the roof and begins to spiral and crash. As it lands on its side broken and beaten up, I had hit my head hard on the side of Soldier's seat. Dazed, I watch him grab Steve's throat in his metal hand snarling at him,

"Don't you dare touch her!" even though the helicopter is slowly starting to move backwards, Soldier keeps ahold of Steve's neck so that the second I feel us falling I squeeze my eyes shut tight. Soldier and I are tossed around inside the helicopter as I watch water rush inside the hole Soldiers had made with his metal arm. As I bite my lower lip to keep from breathing in water, a metal arm grabs my body and I'm being pulled up. The second I can breathe I look to see Steve who knocks an already exhausted Soldier out with one good punch.

"You ok Hannah?" he asks me taking Soldier so that his weight doesn't weigh me down. Just nodding unable to say anything, I follow him down the channel swimming alongside Steve holding Soldier. When we're able to, I help Steve drag an unconscious Soldier from the water watching Steve hold him upright.

"I have to tell you something Steve." I say brushing aside some of my hair that the dye is washing out of. As the color drips down my face Steve just shakes his head replying,

"We have to get out of sight." so looking around I spy a warehouse type building and wave an arm towards it. As we walk Steve mumbles something about Sam so that I stop him to say,

"Go find him, I got Bucky."

"But he's not Bucky." Steve says hesitantly so that I just give him a smile so that he understands that I already know—I don't need to be told twice. Against what he wants Steve helps shift Soldier's weight for me to hold so that he runs off to find Sam. Once inside the warehouse I search for something to keep Soldier in—any sort of machine to keep him from escaping. Spying a machine clearly made to crunch metal, I stumble over towards it and set the dead weight onto the ground. As I maneuver the metal arm into the hold I hear him start groaning.

"It's ok Bucky, I'm right here, you're Hannah is right here." I say as I lower the machine onto his metal arm just enough to have pressure which would cause any sort of harm if he tried to get out. After a few minutes of my drying my now once again white blonde hair Steve and Sam enter the building.

"You ok?" Sam asks as I just nod before we all hear Bucky's voice as his head lifts up to see us. As he manages to say Steve's name he demands,

"Which Bucky am I talking to?"

"Your mom's name was Sarah, you used to wear newspapers in your shoes. And Hannah was always causing trouble, followed you off to war." he says glancing over to see me as I just nod.

"You don't read that in history books." I say smiling slightly although Sam asks clearly upset,

"And just like that we're supposed to be cool?" as Bucky asks what he ended up doing he then mumbled that he knew that something like this could happen. Something that I knew would happen. Bucky just talks as if he's the only one in the room, about how everything the two of us learned from HYDRA was still in our heads. Steve wants answers since it only took 10 minutes for Bucky to go nuts thanks to that 'doctor'.

"He wanted to know about Siberia, where we were kept. He wanted to know exactly where." hearing this from Bucky I can't help but take a step back from the guys, my eyes fixed on Bucky who knows as well as I do what lies in Siberia. Shaking my head as tears fill my eyes, I see Steve and Sam turn to face me looking worried. Bucky just keeps eye contact with me as Steve asks,

"Why would he need to know that?"

"Because we're not the only soldiers, we're not the only ones." I say turning to face Steve before adding,

"Because we're not the only ones HYDRA made." images and flashes appear before my eyes as the very thought of Siberia has me shaking. All the tests, training, exercise, trials and fights—it was all still as easy to recall since I was there. Bucky knows exactly what has me shaking as Steve asks to know about them.

"They were the most elite death squad, more kills than anyone in HYDRA history. That was before the serum they were given, injected straight into their veins until the bag was empty. All they needed to become greater was the serum—it made it so easy." I explain as I stand near Bucky needing to know that he was still beside me—he would always be beside me.

"Did they give you the serum Hannah?" Steve asks only I shook my head saying,

"At first they didn't think that I, a woman, could handle such a thing. During my training I learned everything so that I wouldn't need the serum. That's why I became Soldier's partner and not any of the others, because even without the serum I proved that it wasn't hard to train a professional killer. And they were worse than us."

"And the doctor could he control them?" Steve wonders so that it isn't hard to imagine those test subjects running around causing havoc. They can speak up to thirty languages while hiding in plain sight, do whatever it took to get the mission done with only that came with a price—being absolutely insane—even for HYDRA.

"That guy, the doctor, remember that mission when I was disoriented? When someone knocked me out?" I ask so that when both Steve and Sam nod I narrow my eyes as I tell them,

"This was the same guy, the same man who knew who I was and the same man who promised to watch us burn." at that Steve and Sam chat in private for a moment, I kneel down next to Bucky seeing his head bleeding from a cut. Grabbing a nearby semi-clean rag I start whipping away the blood as he says,

"He knew you Hannah, but not as Hannah."

"I know—that's why I went willingly." I tell him as he flexes his metal arm and hand having been let out of the machine. I watch him frown at his metal arm as he mutters,

"This would have been easier if I was—"

"What? Dead?" I snap making him look up and see me as I throw the rag aside telling him honestly as I hold his face in both hands,

"You're not allow to die and leave me—I won't let you leave me." he gives me a weak smile before I give him a kiss my forehead then rest his forehead against mine. Shaking his head and chuckling softly to himself Bucky asks me,

"Did you get my postcards?" laughing despite the whole situation I nod as I say,

"And I loved every single one, I have a shoebox full in my closet." shaking his head as I slowly stand up and glance over at Steve and Sam, I head over asking the two of them,

"What's the game plan?"

"There's a guy I know, let's just say he's a very annoying but good size person." Sam says smirking at his own joke as Steve continues,

"We find a car and get as far away from here as we can." nodding at that Sam tells us he'll find a car, it'll be easier for him since he's not as easy to recognize. While he leaves Steve steps up close asking me softly,

"What are you going to do?" staring at him in surprise that he even had to ask, I say honestly,

"I'm going to be right where I should be—next to you and Bucky." at this he smiles as he looks over my shoulder to see Bucky having stood up and walk over towards us. Hesitantly he glances at Steve who just holds out his arm for Bucky to take—which he does without a thought. An hour or so later Sam arrives with a small beaten up Beetle which we cram into. Without worrying I take a seat curled into Bucky's chest as we drive off. Steve weaves between streets, takes side roads and makes several turns around and around. He does whatever he can to make sure that if we are seen to vanish before anyone can locate us. Bucky and I help pick out cameras or cars sitting on corners to avoid, Sam even uses binoculars at one point like a Falcon. Halfway through the streets Sam speaks up telling Steve,

"We have someone to meet up with." Steve glances over at Sam in question before Sam starts giving directions to a bridge which we drive under. Once underneath up ahead I spy an unfamiliar car which Sharon steps out of. Frowning at the woman, I roll my eyes as Steve gets out to talk to her. Watching the two talking I feel Bucky shift to get a better look at the woman. As the three of us continue to sit in the car and wait, Bucky tries to shift into a comfortable position in the backseat. As he shifts I playfully kick Sam's seat making him turn to glare at the two of us.

"Can you move your seat up?" Bucky asks with one arm around my waist so that when Sam just says,

"No." Sam says turning to see the two of us smiling on back at him making him throw his hands up into the air. As we chuckle Bucky shifts a bit before asking,

"Who's the dame?"

"Steve's crush." I reply as I turn to see Sharon and Steve kissing making so that I end up shaking my head smiling to myself.


	40. Thirty Eight

**Ok folks, we're almost to the ending and I will warn you that the ending is-well-let's just say that you'll really wanna stay to see what happens. Who knows-maybe someone WILL die.**

Chapter Thirty-Eight~

Steve shakes his head the moment he comes over to the car seeing the three of us smirking at him before he puts into the car his Captain America suit, Sam's flying gear and a jumpsuit with belt. Looking at him as he gets back into the driver's seat Steve explains,

"It's a gift from Sharon, she says she got you all the gear." and so going through what's on the belt I can't help but smile. Six daggers three on each side, two shock bands that were basically Tasers but in wristband form and one very important piece of jewelry. My bracelet—I must have lost it during the fight at the compound. Soon the group of us drive for the airport with Sam saying how he managed to get ahold of Clint who was supposed to pick up the 'extra man'. When I asked about Wanda he just shrugged so that I really hoped for the best. Not only did I miss her as a friend, but I knew she would want to be here helping us. After some careful driving and a few hours our car pulls into the airport parking garage where a white van waits for us. While Steve and Sam get out of the car, I give Bucky one more kiss before spying Wanda next to Clint. Once I get out of the car I run over to Wanda who hugs me tightly as if it's been ages since she last saw me.

"How are you?" she asks seeing me shrug so that with a frown she glances over at Bucky and says,

"Do what your heart says, no matter what."

"I know Wanda, thanks." I reply as Clint comes over and after shaking my hand opens the side door of the van. As the confused looking man steps out of the car, he shakes hands with Steve clearly amazed to be standing in front of him.

"Hey I know your face from that dead person wall." he says smiling so that I reply,

"Thanks—I think." suddenly overhead we hear the intercom system saying to evacuate the airport. Of course that means Tony isn't too far behind us. Once we gear up, we split up with Steve going on ahead to the helicopter Clint had gotten ahold of. Even though I wanted to go with him the stubborn man said he'd go alone—be a distraction if needed. Clint and Wanda hide in the parking garage while Bucky, Sam and I run to find the jet the others have to have used to get here. Scott aka Tic-Tac aka Ant-Man would hide in tiny form with Steve—a good idea actually since that would be a surprise attack. While running through the terminal I spy something literally climbing on the windows and ready two daggers. Just as the red and blue wearing teenage breaks the glass sending Sam backwards, I throw one dagger at him which he dodges—but not the second time around. I'll never know how she got them, but the six daggers on my belt were made by the one and only Tony Stark. Normal daggers on the outside, inside a powerful electro-magnet that when I pull back returns like a boomerang. Basically what Steve had on his shield to bring it back to his arms. As the newbie gets sliced in the arm by the dagger Bucky throws a punch which he'd normally wouldn't have gotten to block. Only when the newbie stops Bucky's metal arm I growl and slam kick him in the lower back. Sam flies overhead grabbing the newbie as I start after Bucky. As the newbie literally starts swinging overhead I throw two more daggers cutting whatever it is he's swinging on. Falling hard onto the ground I kick him in the side before grabbing an arm and throwing him into a souvenir stand.

"That's not cool lady!" he shouts only I smirk telling him,

"I'm not a lady."

"Then I can hit you!" I wait until he's in front of me before I kick him once again only with this amount of force it sends him through a glass sign. As the newbie shakes his head trying to regain his senses I throw another dagger in between his legs telling him,

"Stay put newbie, I won't miss next time." problem is when I turn around I get smacked by him swinging into me. Tumbling on the ground and into a crouching position I watch him go after Bucky and Sam who end up a level below me. Slowly standing up again I take out a dagger telling the newbie as I charge the metal with electricity from the Taser,

"I don't even care anymore if this hurts." and throwing at him I hit the column he's on sending an electric shock through the thing and into his body. A moment later he's flying out the window by Redwing allowing me to get to Sam and Bucky. Tied up in some strange 'web' type material I cut them loose as Bucky asks Sam,

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" as the two stand back up I tell them,

"As long as he's electrocuted he won't be of that much help. We have to remember that because I can keep shocking him but it's going to do more and more damage."

"Then let's save that for later." Sam says as we start off running again so that by the time we meet up with the others something blasts the ground in front of us. Looking up to see Vision flying overhead, I frown as he hovers in the air—by the team lead by Tony.

"Captain Rogers, I know you believe what you are doing is right. But for the collective good, you must surrender now." I watch as the other members of Team Tony stand in front of us while Vision hovers overhead.

"What do we do Cap?" Sam says so that without even needing an answer I know what he's going to say anyway.

"We fight." with that the group of us start walking forward while I allow myself to be taken over by Pale Shadow. This won't end well for anyone—and I couldn't care anymore. I've had enough talking and arguing and yelling. I was done listening to people telling me what was right or wrong. I was done trying to prove the difference. I was done letting other people once again control and tell me what to do. I had gone through all of that; arguing and yelling, listening to people say what was right or wrong, proving the difference, control and tell me what exactly to do. That was a part of my life with HYDRA and I wasn't about to relive any of that again. As the two sides slowly pick up speed running at one another, I get out two of my daggers and charge them with electricity. The first I'd throw at Rhodey in his War Machine gear, take him out before moving to take out Vision. He's probably got more power than all of us combined with that magic jewelry stuck in his forehead. If I could take him out we'd get some more time, if I take out Rhodey than Tony would more than likely turn to help him. Tony and Rhodey take off into the air alongside Vison so that Sam flies up next to Wanda. Taking aim, I throw my first dagger at Rhodey only the thing explodes from a blast by Tony. Using that moment I toss the second dagger again at Rhodey who once he's hit starts to twitch and spark. Tony goes right for Steve, T'Challa aiming for Bucky, Sam and Rhodey fly after one another, Natasha is fighting with Scott, and the newbie is swinging around overhead as Wanda and Clint fire at him. While the chaos is going on I throw my daggers one by one into anyone with electrical gear on meaning Rhodey or Tony or even T'Challa if only to distract him. When I see T'Challa throw Bucky into a stack of crates before charging at him, I glance over at Wanda who just smiles. With her powers she charges the dagger of electricity I throw at T'Challa so that he flinches as if he actually felt that. Thanks to Wanda he goes flying into a boarding tunnel for a plane while I go to check on Bucky. We pause for a moment to look at Steve knowing we have to get to the jet.

"We have to get out of here that creep is probably in Siberia by now." I tell them so that Sam cuts in with,

"No! You three get to the jet, the rest of us aren't getting out of here."

"As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one some of us will have to lose." Clint ads making Steve lower his head since he's torn as to what to do. Leave his friends fighting and come with Bucky and I or stay and continue to try and help. Only he knows that Sam and Clint are right—and he hates it.

"We need a diversion, something big." Sam shouts just as Scott cuts in with his plan—which basically sounds crazy. Taking the moment to wait for 'the signal' when a giant size Scott appears grabbing Rhodey from flying after us I can't help but smile. A second later the three of us are running like hell towards the hanger and for the jet. While running I glance up to see a control tower literally crumbling towards us that slows us down for a moment before red energy encases it. Knowing that it's Wanda has my body speed up as best I can—for my friends—for Steve—for Bucky. The three of us literally have seconds before we leap into the hanger that is totally blocked now from behind. Seeing a figure up ahead that turns out to be Natasha, I frown and slow to stand near Bucky and behind Steve.

"You're not going to stop." she says more of a statement than question so that Steve tells her,

"You know I can't." letting out a breath she raises her arm saying mostly to herself,

"I'm going to regret this." before firing a blast not at us—but at T'Challa who somehow had managed to get inside the hanger with us. As he trembles from the electric shock I turn to see Natasha who looks apologetically at me. Continuing to fire electricity at him, Steve and Bucky run for the jet while I just hardly manage to climb aboard. I'm exhausted and legs trembling I fall to my knees inside the jet, breathing hard to try and stay upright. With Steve starting up the jet and making a gap for us to fly out of, Bucky helps me into a seat and checks me for any wounds or injuries. Waving off his hands Bucky grabs both of them to stare into my eyes. At some point Bucky asks us,

"What's gonna happen to your friends?" Steve tells him he'll deal with whatever happens. Bucky lost in his own mind tells him,

"I don't know if I'm worth all this Steve."

"What you did all those years, it wasn't you—you didn't have a choice." Steve says but Bucky just says meaning the both of us—not just Bucky. We were a team—a team that killed thousands.

"I know—but I did It." was Bucky's only reply before I took one of his hands and squeezed it.


	41. Thirty-Nine

**Short chapter is short but its a chapter I felt I had to write. Seeing the story from another prospective and change how someone *cough Tony* sees everything.**

Chapter Thirty-Nine~ **The Raft, Atlantic Ocean**

After visiting and seeing his former friends and comrades locked away until the end of time, Tony Stark is called to see Secretary Ross. Upon entering his office Tony looks around while Secretary Ross snaps,

"You messed with our audio."

"Now why would I do that?" Tony asks shrugging despite his injured arm standing by the door compelled not to let this guy get under his skin. Too many people had been hurt because of this; Rhodey was more than likely paralyzed, his former teammates locked away in this super jail and three of the most wanted people missing in action.

"Don't pretend with me Stark, I know what happened to your friend and for that I'm sorry," Ross begins only Tony snaps,

"No you're not sorry so don't pretend with me!"

"Listen to me very carefully Stark, I want all three of them brought in this very second." Ross says coming around his desk to press a button on his computer. Up on a screen for the two to see is a large picture of Hannah 'Ace' Cohen during WW2. Next to it there's a picture of her in her Pale Shadow uniform while a short clip replays of her shooting a target off screen.

"I read up on her files; blew up a building with twenty people inside and only one target, helped kill any survivors that the Winter Solider left, has a very long list of criminal acts including killing at least two government members. She's just as horrible as Barnes." as Ross speaks Tony reads the information saying honestly,

"It also says how old she is—28. Isn't that near same age as Betty before all of this?"

"Don't you dare bring my daughter into this! Cohen is a cold blooded killer and needs to be removed just like Barnes and Rogers!" Ross shouts standing in front of Tony to look him square in the eye while after a moment of not saying anything Tony says finally,

"During the Sokovia battle, Hannah ran into gunfire to try and save a team member. She willingly stayed on the falling hunk of earth knowing that it'd be blown up. She stayed knowing that she would probably not get out alive, she stayed to keep everyone else alive instead. Tell me sir, does that sound like a cold blooded killer to you? Yeah she killed all those people and yeah she's done tons of war crimes but she tried to make up for it. Barnes on the other hand was just gone, a ghost in the wind doing nothing to clear his name. It might take years to change a person—but longer to change them again."

"You're starting to make me think you're switching sides Stark." Ross snaps only Tony shrugs telling him again,

"Be honest with me sir, would you run into gunfire to save someone? Would you stay on a ship or jet knowing it blow up? Would you let yourself die to keep others alive? Of course you served the country, whoop-de-doo. Awarded metals and titles only many men died because you 'compromised'?" with that Tony turned around and stormed out of the office, knowing what he had to do.


	42. Fourty

**Three things about this chapter. One, I changed some of the Marvel universe to give Hannah a really dark part in this chapter and for Tony to hate her more. Two, THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! And three—DON'T HATE ME!**

Chapter Forty~ **HYDRA Facility, Siberia**

Seeing the endless landscape of white knowing what lay underground had me shiver. While Steve landed the jet I rearranged my hair to hide my shaking hands. The last time I was here was—horrible. A terrible memory and reminder that HYDRA owned not just my mind, but my free will and total control over me. Gearing up with weapons and checking our gear, as the jet hanger lowered Steve asks Bucky if he remembered the time we had to ride in a freezer truck.

"Yeah because we used our train money to buy hot dogs, you got the munchies." I smirk adding,

"And you Buck spent nearly all your money to buy that stupid bear for that girl—Dolores?" chuckling softly, Steve put a hand on Bucky's shoulder so that the two were basically holding me in the middle. After a moment of looking at one another I lean over and kiss their cheeks, making them know I'll always be with the two of them. Stepping outside to see the massive metal door already open, I clutch the gun tighter and frown.

"He can't have been here more than a few hours." Steve says making me reply harshly,

"More than enough time to wake them up the son of a bitch." entering the compound we squeeze into a small elevator to meet whatever fate awaited us. Getting out with Bucky in front, Steve in the middle and me behind we keep glancing around to make sure we're in the clear. With every twist and turn the three of us climb up a set of stairs before hearing the doors behind us start to open. The two men push me in between them as we take aim—only to see Tony in his Iron Man suit before us.

"You seem a little defensive." Tony says lowering his helmet as Steve moves forward, both Bucky and I with our guns trained on Tony's every movement.

"It's been a long day." Steve replies simply as Tony glances up at the two of us saying,

"At ease soldier I'm not here after you—or Hannah."

"Then why are you here?" I snap at him so that as he calmly walks over he says that he may or may not believe Steve's story. That Bucky was framed, that it was the crazy son of a bitch who started all of this. He mocks the fact that Ross would have him arrested for not knowing he was here then finding out. Of course he'd make a joke out of something like that. It's not until Steve tells us to lower our weapons that Bucky and I lower them so that a moment later all four of us are slowly stalking the hallways. So many horrible memories fill my mind as we walk through; training, fighting, experiments, torture, mind erasing. Finally we enter a large room that when the lights turn on we see a terribly familiar sight. Frozen figures lost in time within containers, their bodies held in suspended animation and strangely enough—bullet wounds in their foreheads.

"If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep." the voice belonging to the man who began this war.

"Did you really think I wanted more of you?" he says almost tauntingly at us while I mutter under my breath,

"What the hell did he do?"

"I'm grateful to them though, they brought you here." the man keeps talking in an eerily calm voice, totally unaffected by what's going on around all of us. The moment a light turns on Tony and Steve attack it only to see a glass window which the man taunting says they can't break. While Tony snaps he could probably blow up the glass I notice in the center of the room the bane of my existence. The Chair that so many times over had taken away my free will, my own motivation, my own mind. Just staring at it made my hands shake with rage as I glare up at the man responsible for everything. Steve goes right up to the glass so that hardly able to hear the man behind it talking, I sweep around the room only to see a tiny sliver of a shadow behind a wall. Glaring at the movement I went to tap Bucky on the shoulder but never got the chance. A computer screen turns on with the date December 16th 1991. The four of us move to see what's on with Tony saying in slight shock,

"I know that road. What is this!" only he got no answer as we watch the video footage play out before us. The car that crashes, the motorcycle rider that stops near it, the figure that storms to the car—the weak voice of the driver, the painful cry of a woman, the motorcycle rider beating the living shit out of the driver. We watch in total silence as the figure shoves the driver into the front seat before moving to the other side—effectively silencing the passenger. The look on Tony's face when he sees Bucky staring into the camera is both heartbreaking and rage filled as he lunges for Bucky. Suddenly the footage changes and we see another video. A mansion at night, a male figure working in a fancy kitchen while a shadowy figure stalks his body—the gleam of a sniper rifle caught in the light, the flash of a female face with near white blonde hair. The moment the man turns around and sees the shadow two shots hit his chest causing him to collapse. Blood oozes from the wounds as the female figure moves to stand over them slowly kneeling before him. With a face void of any emotion she stabs a small dagger into both wounds watching the man writhe in agony. The moment he stops moving the female stands and turns to face the camera—my face almost smirking in wicked delight. I knew that man—that innocent man I had killed on orders. Edwin Jarvis—the butler and caretaker of Tony after his parents died—who were killed by Bucky. Lunging towards both of us to attack Steve stops him only he says in a low rage filled voice,

"Did you know?"

"I didn't know it was them." Steve says only Tony shakes him snapping,

"Don't bullshit me I asked did you know?" for a moment Steve says nothing, just staring into the face of his former friend, former teammate. The tension in the air is growing until Steve finally says,

"Yes." only one heartbeat goes by until Tony lashes out sending Steve flying. Bucky raises his gun only he too is swiped away leaving Tony to kick me in the stomach. Dropping my gun and slamming into the ground, I look up to see Bucky pinned on the ground by Tony. Steve sends his shield into Tony before a moment later Steve is on the ground with a strange sort of cuffs on his ankles. Sprinting towards Tony I grab his arm so that taking ahold of my wrist sends me flying to be forced into a wall. Trying to punch me instead I jam a dagger into the center of his palm causing him to send a blast behind us. Spying the towers holding the frozen figures beginning to collapse, Steve comes running over while everything falls apart. The moment I'm free Bucky grabs my arm and starts pulling me along. Steve tells us to get out, Bucky and I flee for the exit as fast as we can. Overhead the ceiling begins to open, the two of us move to climb up and out. With every leap and jump we slowly move closer to freedom until Tony reappears flying in the center. Grabbing another dagger I throw it at his compromised boot sending him tilting sideways. The only reason the two of us are blocked from a blast is because of Steve's shield which sends Tony slamming into a wall.

"He's not going to stop, go." Steve tells us meaning he'd stay behind and do everything he can to stop Tony. For a moment I watch Tony being forced into the ground by Steve holding onto him before a moment later just before we can escape—the ceiling overhead smashes closed. Falling to a ledge below, I watch as Tony flies up and towards us. Using a metal pipe to hit him as hard as I can, Tony swings it away as he grabs Bucky around the neck.

"Do you even remember them?" Tony asks directed at both of us.

"I remember all of them." Bucky says with me adding,

"We can never forget." which causes Tony to send Bucky downwards as he somehow also latches onto my ankle. As the three of us go tumbling downwards Steve grabs ahold and because of the weight we fall seemingly forever. With a crash and tumble Bucky lands hard onto a ledge while I end up two ledges underneath him. Glancing down to see Steve on the ground below with Tony, I reach for a dagger but realize they're all gone. Instead I shout out in rage I hear Steve tell Tony who is almost visibly shaking,

"This isn't going to change what happened."

"I don't care—they killed my mom and best friend." Tony snaps back before leaping onto Steve. As the two fight I watch Bucky grab Steve's shield that had fallen and slam it into Tony's back. Jumping down nearby with a shard of broken metal, I slash and stab it into Tony's suit wherever I possibly can. The more damage the better. Tossing the shield back and forth in a deadly dance, the three of us fight Tony with everything we have. Every last combination of strength, every last forced movement, every last punch and hit we three take. At one point Tony smashes Steve into a wall causing Bucky to jump on him in return. Firing a blast overhead causing Bucky to stumble, I lurch forward and with all my force shove Tony into the wall. Digging deep into my body, pulling every last ounce of strength left within me, I grab at Tony's chest piece while shouting at him,

"I won't let you kill them!"

"Then I'll get you the hell off of me!" Tony shouts in return probably trying to power as much of his suite as he can. For an amazing moment my glove covered fingers begin to actually dig into his armor making a crunching sound before his hand rises to my chest, there is a huge blast of light—and my whole body goes numb. Breath stolen from me as I fall like a ragdoll onto the ground, I gasp desperately for air but instead feel hot metallic liquid choke my throat. The numb feeling turns into a coldness worse than anything someone can imagine. Worse than anything someone can even begin to understand. With a painful eye movement to look down at my body I see a hole literally halfway through my chest. That's why everything hurts—why my nerves were both burning me alive and freezing at the same time. Why I was tasting blood and feeling my mind go completely blank. While trying to push me off him Tony had fired a blast—straight into my chest. I hear a rage filled shout and a scream as I stare at the ceiling seeing no color, no light, almost totally blind to anything. As darkness seeps into my body and I can literally feel my heartbeat slowly down in my chest as something wet covers my face. It's not blood because the blood is warm and sticky. No—it wasn't blood—it was tears. So this is what Death feels like—Steve—Bucky—Punk—Jerk—Steve—Bucky—Darkness—Emptiness—Void—Bucky—Death.


	43. Epilogue

**I have never loved a story as much as I have this one, never felt as much an emotional personal connection then this one. At first I started writing this as something fun to do—but it's so means much more than that now for me. I've never hated to end a story as much as this one—ever. For all 74 reviews, 174 favorites and 221 followers I am so, so happy that you've liked this story. And for everyone who reviews who are just guest I'm happy that you took the time to write a review at all. While writing this story and while seen Civil War in theaters I kept having to remind myself that Hannah wasn't real and that she wasn't ever going to be in the movie. That's how real of a character she became to me—maybe a bit crazy but still. So everyone this is the end of 'I Can't Just Forget Her' but I'll say this—now all there is to do my friends is wait and see for the future can never be completely frozen in time.**

Epilogue~ **Third Person Prospective**

The moment Hannah landed in a pool of her own blood the world seem to slow down to a crawl. Everything was in slow motion as Bucky ran forward towards her limp figure. Her chest wasn't moving and the crimson blood staining the floor seem to stand out in a horrible sight. It mocked them all and signaling the immediate fate of Hannah 'Ace' Cohen. The very second Bucky reached her the world sped up again as he looked at her wound. In the left side of her chest was a hole that was very deep. Looking into her eyes, Bucky saw no recollection, no understanding, no light and no life. Standing a pace away breathing heavily Steve felt hollow as his best friend reached out to close Hannah's eyes. The silence that filled the space rang in each man's ears; Tony with mouth open and unmoving, Steve body so tight it might snap in half, Bucky's heart literally shattered into pieces. In that moment everything went into warp speed with Bucky flying at Tony with his body on fire with rage. Letting out a roar so full of wrath that it filled every part of the room, Bucky wouldn't stop until Tony was destroyed. However he went flying backwards a few feet from Hannah's body. When he moved to get up something wasn't right—if anything something felt painfully wrong. Turning his head to one side Bucky was greeted with the sight of his metal arm—missing. Totally gone—literally removed from his whole body leaving behind burnt bits of metal. Tony who was now basically a hollow bodied man, used both blasters to fire at Steve. Steve couldn't remove the agony fueled ferocity that pumped ablaze in his veins. Raising up his shield to protect himself, Steve sent the energy clashing and sparking around the two of them. The bright force of light send wave after wave of power through the area that signaled the very last and final impending warning. A second later Steve was using every last ounce of strength to attack Tony who realizing he couldn't fight him hand-to-hand. Somehow able to analyze Steve's fighting patterns, it was Tony's last chance to end this. Finally Tony grabbed onto Steve's shield and holding it mid-attack, with one swift movement Steve was sent backwards. Punch after punch he threw until finally Steve was panting on the ground in front of Bucky. Staring up at Tony as he forced himself to catch his breath Steve told him,

"They're my friends."

"So was I." was the only thing Tony said before throwing Steve into a column causing him to land in snow.

"Stay down, finally warning." Tony said with no emotion only Steve staggered back up onto his feet saying with fists raised,

"I could do this all day." just before Tony could blast him Bucky, who had been fighting through his own pain, grabbed his ankle but was kicked away. That allowed Steve to grab Tony and pull him over and away from Bucky. Lifting him over his head as Tony kicked his blaster boots on, Steve instead threw him into a column so that Tony crumble onto the ground. Letting out a cry of pain, Tony received punch after punch to the face. Steve then grabbed his shield and used it to slam into his suit. When his helmet came off Tony stared up into the enraged face of Steve who slammed the shield into his chest finally breaking the suit completely. Bloodied, shaking and weak staring up at Steve's face, the final blow never came. Instead Steve rolled to one side leaving the shield still stuck in Tony's suit of armor. A moment later Steve managed to stand, at least he was still standing. With a powerless suit and empty man behind, Steve went towards the two fallen figures of his friends. Steve went over to Bucky who had had moved to Hannah so that he could hold her hand with his remaining hand.

"That shield doesn't belong to you, you don't deserve it, my father made that shield!"

 **Avengers Compound, Upstate New York**

Tony had just received a package while helping his friend Rhodey learn how to walk again. Tony had helped design a special pair of robotic leg braces that would help rehabilitate him and hopefully help Rhodey relearn to walk in the long run. Upon entering an office and sitting down, Tony opened the box and pulled out a letter. Looking at the simple handwriting with his name, he noticed that he knew the handwriting—it belonged to only one person.

"Tony, I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. We all need family, the Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine. I've been on my own since I was eighteen, I never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. My faith is in people I guess—individuals. And I'm happy to say that for the most part they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced but maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you Tony—I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents that I was sparing you but—I can see now that I was only sparing myself. And I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. I wish we agreed on the Accords I really do. I know that you're doing what you believe in and that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should. So if you ever need us—if you need me—I'll be there."

"Priority call from Secretary Ross. There's been a breach at the Raft Prison." FRIDAY's voice cuts in so that Tony just sighs and leans back in his chair. After putting Secretary Ross through on his phone and hearing only a few words of what he has to say, Tony cuts him off and hangs up on him—Tony doesn't want to hear anything the bastard has to say for right now. Glancing over at the phone that had also been in the package Tony felt an unnamed emotion filling him. With innocent blood stained on his hands and a broken team torn into pieces because of everything—he felt—well—he didn't even know what to name the emotion. Or perhaps he just didn't want to.

 **The Raft Prison, Somewhere in the Atlantic**

There had been a security breach, video feeds from cameras lost and audio systems broken, men knocked unconscious and locks smashed apart. Within the main section of the secure prison where Sam Wilson, Scott Lang, Clint Barton and Wanda Maximoff where kept a lone figure appeared. In the cover of darkness standing strong there was the figure of Steve Rogers who worked to free each of his friends and teammates. The very moment they were all free without any words exchanged they ran following Steve to freedom. A jet awaited them that once everyone was inside took off in the stormy skies overhead. By the time anyone realized what had happened the jet was long, long gone. Untraceable thanks to some help by a certain King the jet just—disappeared.

 **Hidden Compound, Somewhere in Wakanda**

Bucky sat calmly on a medical table, wearing a black cap over where his metal arm had once been. Getting prepped by a scientist without a word and an IV in his arm, he looked up to see Steve walking over towards him.

"You sure about this?" Steve asks so that looking up Bucky saw that there in front of him was—at least for now—his future.

"I can't trust my own mind. So until they can figure out how to get this stuff out of my head I think going back under is the best thing. For everybody." and just like that Bucky was helped into a glass covered chamber and strapped in without so much as a blink of the eye. As the lid closed over his body, Bucky closed his eyes knowing without and doubt that this was the only way. A second later ice filled the chamber and James Buchanan Barnes, Bucky, the Winter Soldier—was frozen once again. Right next to him in a chamber just like his own was another figure frozen in time—Hannah Cohen, Ace, Pale Shadow. Her body was now clinging to suspended animation, despite her wound having been surgically and internally healed. It meant that she would be with Bucky if not in the physical world—than in a place that no one could never ever keep their love apart. It had been Bucky's last and only request from everyone, that he be allowed to be next to the woman he loved more than life. It had taken some time, but finally it was worked out that the two would stay in separate chambers, frozen beside one another. In a way it made Steve feel better that at least somehow the two would be able to stay with one another. No one, not even Steve, could understand the sheer heartbreak and emptiness Bucky had felt. He had held her despite his arm missing the whole flight to Wakanda. Rocked her gently, spoke loving tender words to her in Russian, held her tight and kissed her now and again on the forehead. During the flight with Steve watching with tears falling down his cheeks with T'Challa who was piloting the jet, saying a prayer softly under his breath. When the others found out after being brought to Wakanda the silence had been so strong that not even a bomb would be able to break the silence. And now—now here the two are side by side once again. Glancing between the two frozen figures, Steve steps forward and looked inside Hannah's chamber to just make out a pair of dog tags that had belonged to Bucky. Steve had remembered—and so had Bucky—what those dog tags meant. Way back when ages ago Bucky had told Steve what he had wanted most of all back then. To be able to give the dog tags to a dame as a promise that when he returned from the war—he'd marry that person. While with HYDRA the dog tags had been missing but Steve had done everything and anything to find them again. When he did the second Bucky saw them he had said—they were for Hannah. Similarly to Hannah's wearing Bucky's dog tag, Bucky was wearing a silver bracelet with rubies forming a star. The bracelet Bucky had given Hannah, the treasure that Hannah kept closest to her heart than any other item. Now Steve stands staring out a window with footsteps of someone coming to stand next to him.

"Thank you for this." Steve says to him with honesty filling his words as T'Challa nods slightly replying,

"Your friends and my father—they were both victims. If I can have one of them find peace—" only he couldn't finish because his heart was too heavy. Vengeance for his father had turned into determination to do whatever it took in order to help those as innocent as his father.

"My scientists were about to finish their initial findings and told me about—" T'Challa began only Steve cut him off with a harsh snap,

"Until you can promise me—I can't believe anything." then with a heavy sigh Steve ads,

"You know if they find out we're here they'll come for them." only T'Challa was unaffected by those words. Instead the King of Wakanda simply looks out the window telling Steve,

"Let them try." for far, far off in the distance of the wild jungles that surrounded miles and miles of uncharted land, a large stone carving of a panther loomed in the shadows.


	44. EPILOGUE UPDATE!

**I feel overwhelmingly compelled to try and explain the Epilogue for this story. But first I seriously have to thank everyone who read, reviewed, followed and favorite this. You guys gave me life! Ok so let me try and sort out some things for you all. On to the subject of Tony's lack of emotion in the Epilogue—that was the point.**

 **When I wrote that** **'Tony felt an unnamed emotion filling him'** **it's because in my mind he's never had to deal with such horrific pain since the death of his parents when he fought Steve, Bucky and Hannah. Steve had been his friend who choose a former assassin who killed his parents over Tony himself. Also** **'With innocent blood stained on his hands'** **Tony can't come bring himself to know that he's killed Hannah, someone he too became friends with.** **'And a broken team torn into pieces because of everything'** **that's him having to swallow the fact that what he might have done destroyed the Avengers as a whole group.** **'He didn't even know what to name the emotion'** **is simple—he's in a horrible state of denial. I tried to put myself in Tony's shoes and imagine 'what would I feel or in this case NOT feel'?**

 **Ok so now onto Hannah's death. Having wrote** **'Her body was now clinging to suspended animation, despite her wound having been surgically and internally healed'** **I have this idea in my head. The idea that Bucky could be frozen alive for years at a time made me think. That would be 'suspended animation' wouldn't it? Also I thought back to the 'Cradle' from Age of Ultron. How it could regenerate tissue and heal wounds and whatnot. What if Wakanda had the same sort of technology? If they can freeze Bucky what's to say they can't use a machine similar to the 'Cradle'?**

 **Now here's where it might get tricky.** **'Apparently I had had surgery before because three of my vertebra behind where my heart is located—where metal. Not just any metal—but made from Vibranium'** **How many of you remember this part?** **'The Vibranium had slowly over the years began to absorb into the tissue of my spine so that my brainwaves were twice the normal speed. What's more was the fact that my body had grown so accustom to this 'strange normality' that even my bloodstream had traces of the metal that had fused with my red and white blood cells'** **So here's my thought on this part of the story—**

 **The fact that Hannah has Vibranium fused to the tissue of her spine and are in her bloodstream with of her red and white blood cells makes me think of a few ideas.** **'In the left side of her chest was a hole that was very deep.'** **In my mind's eye I have an image of Hannah lying with this hole in her chest—but the wound doesn't go all the way through. It's deep but not straight through her body. Now back to the 'Cradle' idea—if it can heal tissue who says it can't heal the internal injuries Hannah sustained? Who says that because of the Vibranium already in her body that that won't help the healing process? Ok so yeah that might be a bit of a stretch but this is 'Fiction' so I use that as a reason why this might work.**

 **So now put that all together; Hannah is in suspended animation, what if Wakanda had their own 'Cradle', the wound wasn't completely through her whole body, the 'Cradle' can heal tissue and the Vibranium can help heal. What does that mean for Hannah? You decided.**

 **Now onto probably the more pressing issue of 'when will we see Hannah again'? Since we as the general public have absolutely NO idea when the Avengers will come back we only know what we've been told by Marvel. There are more movies in the works from Black Panther to Avengers Infinity Wars. So who's to say that Steve and his team might not show up in the Black Panther movie? Who says that in the future movies that Tony and his team won't make an appearance? And of course there's the Infinity War movies!**

 **Both Black Panther and Avengers Infinity Wars as set to come out in 2018 (thanks Google) and Captain Marvel is a wild card. I don't know about you but waiting until 2018 is a stretch of the imagination to continue this story as it is.**

 **In short (or long depending on what you say) this story is FINISHED. There are no more chapters to add. Although I am toying with the idea of a Smutty one-shot between Bucky and Hannah. If I do write another story it won't have anything to do with this one.**

 **So my dear readers, those who give the Plot Bunny cookies and give me a reason to continue writing I have this to say. Look out for my new stories and if you possibly can hold onto the idea that we will see Hannah again. Her story may be done for now—but it won't ever finish as long as Bucky is around.**


End file.
